The case for #legaltech & innovation in SA.

We have one of the best constitutions and legal regimes in the world, however when we speak of Access of Justice it is a different kind of conversation.

In this article, I dissect in part some reasons that I have found that support innovative thinking and the increase in the use of technology in the legal industry to address this very issue of #AccessToJustice.

Number of Lawyers

According to the Law Society of South Africa, there are 27 223 attorneys in South Africa. When you work that number against our population which as of June 2020 sits at approximately 59, 2 million (Source: Worldmeter), that is a citizen/lawyer ratio of about 3000/1. This simply shows that there are not enough of us lawyers. Never mind other legal bodies, such as Businesses, NPOs, different State Departments.

And then what next?

Cost of Justice in South Africa

In the event that you do approach a lawyer, you still have to deal with the high costs of legal fees. In his paper, Jonathan Klaaren, Visiting Professor, Wiser @WitsUniversity called "Cost of Justice" tells of a sorry tale of the costs of traditional legal assistance, here are the numbers, what it will cost you for legal services according to Legal Practioner type and training.

• Those in Training:

Small Firm Corporate Firm Advocate

R400/hr R900/hr N/A

• Those who are freshly qualified:

Small Firm Corporate Firm Advocate

R500/hr R1100/hr R800/hr

• Those with 5 years experience:

Small Firm Corporate Firm Advocate

R700-1100/ R2300/hr R1200/hr

• Those with 10 years experience:

Small Firm Corporate Firm Advocate

R600-900/hr R3000/hr R2000/hr

• Senior:

Small Firm Corporate Firm Advocate

R700-1200/hr R4000/hr R35000/R40000+/day

When you look at these numbers against the average salary of a working South African being R22,500 per month( Business Tech) and factoring in that a single person's standard of living in SA is R 18,144 (Expatistan) this does not give much confidence to the very high legal service fees. Now, this is excluding the 10 million-plus unemployed South Africans as of August 2019 (Mail & Guardian).

Current Options for Citizens

If the high costs of traditional legal services affect you, here are the other available options:

• Pro Bono Legal Services

Section 29 of the Legal Practice Act (an act which governs the profession) mandates Community Service by those in training & practicing professionals via @CouncilPractice to provide pro-bono legal services to the community, oftentimes upon request and through the council's support.

Even this option is not a sustainably viable one. Why? Because there are simply not enough lawyers.

• Legal Aid South Africa

The option for legal assistance can come in the form of @LegalAidSA1 (an independent statutory body established by the Legal Aid SA Act 2014 to offer legal aid to those who cannot afford it) but you still need to pass their "means test". The problem with means test is that the middle class often gets left behind, lawyers are too expensive for them, and yet they end up not qualifying for #legalaid too. See the problem?

• Legal Insurance Companies

Your next option for legal assistance is through legal Insurance companies like Legal Wise and the likes, ultimately should your matter become litigious, it requires a lawyer. This is still a problem, because, there are not enough lawyers.

• DIY Law

With no other viable options available some people choose to find to simply perform legal tasks by themselves and not find a lawyer to help them.

The case for #legaltech and innovation

There is a myriad of reasons for the integration of technology and innovative thinking when it comes to breaking the barriers against #AccessToJustice, I will just simply deal with 2 in short:

• Technology

"Technology is incredible because you can do more with less."

Peter Theil

With the amount of data that lawyers have to sift through and with the rise of people becoming more and more increasingly aware of their legal rights, the need to supplement very limited human capital continues to accelerate.

In the @Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, it summarizes two core reasons for the integration of technology as follows:

"First, the volume & diversity of data that attorneys must analyze in their work has exploded. Secondly, the efficiency gains in other industries highlight the cost savings that can be achieved by adopting more sophisticated technology."

• Globalization

Many law firms have globalized in order to keep pace with the requirements of their multinational clients and are offering specialist advice in many different countries, as well as centers of excellence in specialty areas. The South African legal market has also experienced the entry of a number of international and multinational law firms in recent years. (De Rebus) In order to remain competitive in the provision of legal services for this type of clientele, which in my view can be of great benefit to the average citizen, firm/lawyers have had to integrate technology and be creative in how they provide and navigate legal services.

Conclusion.

With a limited number of lawyers available and more often than not viable options for legal assistance, I think we need to start relooking at how legal services are provided, in order to serve the many. More impact-driven legal work can be achieved, through simpler and more creative ways of closing the justice gap. For example, for those who opt to attend to their legal matters personally, proper and user-friendly tools to navigate this can be created by the #legaltech industry.

This is but a short summary of a much longer look into why we need to be advocating for a more creative take in the provision of legal services, not only from a business sense but more so for a more pre-emptive and not reactive legal industry.

Yours In LegalTech,

Leah Molatseli