Ministry of Justice announces ￡2 million funding in 'Lawtech'!
Clive Ponder TEP
Director of CTT Group, Founder Owner and Director of Countrywide Tax and Trust Corporation Ltd, CTT Accountancy and CTT Law (SRA regulated firm and a Strategic Partner of CTT Group)
The legal services profession is currently at a crossroads...
...with both qualified and non-qualified providers at loggerheads. Solicitors are being tempted by the lucrative chunk of private client legal practice that is not reserved to qualified lawyers, creating an atmosphere of competition for those aiming to prove their expertise within the field to the plethora of clients seeking estate planning advice.
Legal technology (or ‘lawtech’) is playing a huge part in this clash
Lawtech has allowed those new to the sector to compete on equal, and occasionally improved, terms than the experienced law firms with long practice histories. Technology in the sector is allowing the non-legally-qualified to offer their services to clients, more efficiently and at a cheaper rate too, helping the client, while aiding the industry which has its deep roots firmly set in traditional pen-to-paper practice, to increase its appeal and accessibility to the all.
The close of 2019, saw the Ministry of Justice announce the allocation of ￡2 million in funding to support the digital transformation of the UK legal sector over the next two years and create an environment that supports, develops and encourages the use of legal technology within the UK market.
The legal sector has been adapting to technology for some time, but the next decade is where a complete transformation will take place. A tidal wave of change is upon the industry and a choice must be made by all within it - utilise the power of technology in your practice or become redundant to the modern client. Choose wisely.
Technology within the legal sector is widely seen as a step in the right direction...
...by those advocating change, with its endless possibilities of transforming the sometimes insufficient and inefficient methods used in private client practice. The prospect of achieving the same, if not a better, outcome for clients through easier and more cost effective methods is attractive to non-qualified providers and appears to be consistently levelling the playing field between the non-qualified and qualified.
Countrywide Legacy is leading by example in the industry. The legal document drafting software and the introduction of smartphone apps to communicate directly with the client, offers estate planning practitioners a seamless, cost effective and watertight process, that ensures no stone is left unturned when taking instruction with clients. The pre-populated questions guide users through the process of legal document drafting - whether it be Wills, LPAs, Trusts or others - to produce software drafted bespoke documents for each client.
Countrywide Legacy operates with the attitude of embracing the change now, or get left behind in the continually evolving legal industry whilst encouraging other firms to do the same.
While law can often be seen by onlookers as a slightly stuffy profession...
...the increased interest in legal technologies over recent years is also affecting the way in which universities educate the next generation of legal practitioners. Eager to be ahead of the curve in an industry well over-due a technological transformation, a number of universities have started offering specialist modules on the relationship between legal services and technology.
Therefore those currently in the legal profession on the front line of advocating change, like those developing and using the Countrywide Legacy software, can rest assured that the lawyers of the future will be adept in the use of Lawtech, forcing those reluctant to face and embrace the coming changes to rethink the way in which their businesses operate.
The ￡2 million funding reflects the UK Government’s commitment to position the UK as a global leader in legal technology.
So, if you find yourself still sceptical of how technology could assist you in revamping your private client practice...