There is so much to say about technology and the law. The last issue was ChatGPT, now it’s all about workflows. The definition of workflow is the sequence of indus – trial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion. 

Some predict that very soon, a quarter of legal requests will be handled by a “lawbot,” a virtual legal assistant (VLA) and legal chatbots. The legal field has always trailed behind when it comes to technology. Accord – ing to Gartner Inc., a U.S. technological and research firm, only one in five law firms report having a technology or innovation counsel or access to a data analyst. 

Data analytics help a business optimize its performance, perform more efficiently, maximize profit, and make strategically guided decisions. No doubt clients would benefit, and attorneys may see an improvement in quality of life. The old adage, “work smarter not harder” still rings true. With case analytics, attorneys could see what trends worked so they are better pre – pared for the next or similar case.

 Those in compliance can benefit from natural language processing technology. In Arkansas, every legisla – tive session seems to bring a plethora of changes to the law, for example, criminal record sealing. Analytics can be used to track new laws and regulations. It can be a costly and time-consuming error to cite a statute that you didn’t know changed. 

In the patent world analytics could be used to project the expected costs of patent submissions based on previous applications. Pricing is always a top client concern and being able to forecast prices is – priceless. Technology is the key to scaling and eliminating waste, but most legal departments have been slow to invest in technology.

 Gartner surveyed 61 companies in 2018 and technology accounted for a meager 2% of legal department budgets. It’s time to go with the flow and get techy.