Technology is said to be one of, if not THE, fastest growing industry in the world. This is especially true for technology in the legal industry. Of course, with the rapid growth of technological devices, it is bound to have an impact on the litigation process and how legal professionals conduct business.
If advancements continue at this rate, we could see a shift from the traditional model of the written law enforced by individuals to an environment where rules and laws will be incorporated into and enforced by technology. We may see microchips embedded in our cars, appliances, doors and buildings to track human activity! Here are a few things to expect from technology in the legal industry in the coming years…
- Cloud solutions: One of the most common trends we will continue to see is the emergence and use of cloud-based systems. You can store data and files into a centralized online storage network and share the information with remote participants in different locations.
- Gesture and Facial Recognition: Gesture recognition is interpreting human gestures using mathematical algorithms. Gestures can originate from any bodily motion or state but commonly originate from the face or hand. This technology will have a severe impact on the legal industry as litigators will better understand what witnesses are feeling and become better at reading nonverbal cues.
- Remote Presence: More and more legal professionals are attending depositions and other legal proceedings remotely. Traveling to attend an out of town deposition is expensive, time consuming, and now…not necessary. Traditional video conferencing is not a new idea. With the development of more and more web-based streaming and conferencing tools, however, it is even easier to have your presence felt without leaving the comfort of your home or office.
- 5G Communications: Landlines are already pretty much obsolete. 5G communication will soon be the norm, enabling legal professionals to conduct business faster and more efficiently from mobile devices. Some differences to expect with 5G communication are the ability to have a higher number of simultaneously connected devices, lower battery consumption, lower outage probability (better coverage), lower latencies, greater number of supported devices and, a higher versatility of scalability or higher reliability of communications.
In the next 5-10 years the legal industry will see a lot of changes as it relates to technology and how it impacts the litigation process. New devices such as smart watches, smart phones and tablets with 5G Communication, software with facial and gesture recognition capabilities and remote attendance will be the norm!