According to Thomson Reuters, the use of alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) “is now a $10 billion market and growing.”

For traditional legal practices wanting to engage and compete for new, digitally driven clients, becoming more client-centric is key. 37% of clients and 43% of small businesses now turn to the internet for legal providers; catering to this demand for fast, convenient service will ‘make or break’ the success of firms. By automating time-intensive manual processes such as reviewing legislation, lawyers can free up valuable time to focus on providing tailored, high quality customer service to their clients.

So are legal departments and firms ready for such a shift in traditional practices? It’s no secret that change is happening, but emerging technologies can be intimidating for legal professionals whose expertise is in law, not knowledge maps and automation. There is a sense of urgency in the sector, emphasised by Deloitte’s recent estimation that the tipping point for changing work demographics in the legal profession is approaching as soon as 2020.

At Rainbird, our AI-powered automation platform provides a unique approach to digital transformation for legal firms struggling to adapt. Through a formal certification programme which leads to a three-stage artificial intelligence qualification, employees can positively embrace technological change. One recent organisation to undergo the process is international law firm Taylor Wessing.

“Anyone new joining the legal profession probably has some exposure to AI already as all the training establishments and universities are talking about it, but anyone who’s been here more than 4 or 5 years has never had any education on it”, said Kevin Harris – IT Director at Taylor Wessing – of the Rainbird implementation process. “This gives us a way where those who haven’t gone through a modern degree programme can get exposure to at least a level of knowledge.”  

Rainbird CEO Ben Taylor (see header image) discussed how legal practices can make the most of the recent AI boom as keynote speaker at the recent British Legal Technology Forum in London. “With the right understanding and execution,” he explained, “every law firm can become a tech company.”
Follow the link for video footage of the talk.