Introduction
Considering the substantial increase in the use of technology and artificial intelligence (AI), there has been a revolution in industries. Today, the use of technology has been adopted by many, and many remain curious about what the future shall look like in a tech-driven world.
The impact of technology on the legal industry is not far behind. Today, it can revolutionise industry operations by making task execution more accurate, efficient, and cost-effective. For instance, technology has been identified as a top non-legal skill for in-house legal professionals, with almost 60% of firm departments already implementing legal data analytics tools and artificial intelligence for their cases, as per the HBR Law Department Survey.
These statistics are not limited to the in-house sub-set of law. Even within the litigation sub-set of the legal industry, technology is now capable of reducing court’s workloads and speeding up the resolution process by performing significant technical tasks of document analysis, legal research, evidence evaluation, etc., which otherwise takes a great amount of time. In fact, during the pandemic, virtual court hearings experienced a surge of almost 300%, eventually helping the legal systems to function at a normal pace, with the addition of time and cost savings.
However, while we take note of the benefits that technology has and is capable of inculcating in the litigation sector, risks also need to be evaluated. Therefore, this article shall provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the integration of technology and litigation, including both the positives and the negatives.
What do we mean by litigation risks?
Litigation risk describes the likelihood of an individual or corporation getting taken to court. This might be because of their actions, inaction, product, service, or any other foreseeable or unforeseeable event. This is why corporations often tend to employ litigation risk analysis and management to be able to identify high litigation risk areas, which helps them be prepared for the risk beforehand or have the opportunity to eliminate it. The rules, however, vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Litigation workflow steps with legal technology
The following are some steps that may be employed by someone who wishes to regulate their litigation risks with the use of legal technology:
Compile your company’s data
Before going forward with the planning related to the risk, ensure that you have access to the complete documentation of your own company. Compile essential documents, such as financial statements, shareholder information and filings, management profiles, credit ratings, capital structure data, SEC filings, audit reports, etc. Technology may help you to compare the types of litigations the company is involved in, along with the details of their locations, for ease of understanding.
Evaluate your litigation issues
Once you become familiar with your company’s information and data, the next step is to understand the potential and existing litigation issues at play. Technology may help you create easy-to-understand checklists, overviews, sample forms, and comparison tables, along with access to experienced litigators who may help share the best practices to go forward with.
Investigate your judge’s case history
This is especially important in cases where your hearing is very near, and you wish to understand the correct approach to present your case before the judge. The database knowledge can help you predict outcomes, timing, and costs related to the litigation.
Conduct legal research
Litigators and corporations can now jumpstart their legal research by uploading their opponent’s briefings and instantly gaining access to the relevant citations and pointers. A good software that may be used for the same is Brief Analyzer by Bloomberg Law.
Draft a response
When you have already drafted a response in your litigation journey, you should prefer turning to legal technology to find the right legal argument for your case and drafting a winning response.
Remain aware of the risks
As the litigation progresses, be aware of the probable issues that might arise during the proceedings, and which may be capable of affecting your case. You may use the technology to be up-to-date with global network coverage relevant to your business and litigation.
How does technology increase risk management efficiency?
There are various ways in which technology can assist you in implementing a structured way of legal data collection and tracking, which in turn helps you in reporting on risks:
Quick and accurate data collection
A consistent collection of data is essential for the success of your legal risk management. It helps identify a particular legal risk and is useful in controlling future risks and preparing oneself for any potential litigation. One of the easiest ways is by consolidating data in a secure online repository for managing specific legal matters. For instance, through a claim management tool, you can standardize the conduct of your organization and view any or all correspondences related to your claim. For data management, the following are essential to be understood:
- Documents and emails are available with the company and its employees.
- Located, stored, shared and managed data details, which shall be inclusive of text messages, employee work mobile devices and hard drives, human resource documents, audit records, cloud services, etc.
- Details of the person responsible for the data types.
- Data necessary for any ongoing company operations, both related to business and legal operations.
Increased collaboration to identify and control risk
Your risk management plan succeeds the best with effective collaboration. The involvement of various departments, employees, and stakeholders helps you receive a comprehensive view of the risk and further empowers everyone to take steps towards controlling it.
It is vital to have a clear picture of the impact of the risk. Through the involvement of a centralized repository, you can have an overview of all entities and related subsidiaries, which can further assist you in generating organizational charts. It also becomes easier to negotiate contracts, make decisions or participate in specific workflows in risk-exposed areas.
Further, through the use of technology, it is easier to review every clause on every contract without the existence of any administrative roadblock. Therefore, through the use of technology, your colleagues can have more self-sufficient legal management, which can make identifying risks easier.
Proactive risk tracking and reporting
Having an overview of the risks related to your legal matters is especially important. Therefore, when important legal information exists at a central place, you can keep your key obligations at the top, with the necessary alerts or reports to ensure you never miss any deadline. This shall further help you demonstrate a strategic and financial impact and risk management readiness.
Potential Adverse Effects
While the use of technology has its advantages, it is equally important to track the possible adverse effects. Algorithms used in technology are mainly dependent on the training data. Therefore, depending on the data type the algorithm receives, the possibility of societal biases and discriminatory outcomes remains a risk. Further, there are questions of accountability, especially in technological areas with a lack of human oversight and review.
Additionally, privacy concerns remain an issue as online engines collect, analyse, and use your personal data and information. You require a proactive protection mechanism to ensure that your system is not vulnerable to hacking, cyberattacks, and data breaches.
Therefore, while the use of technology can help you manage your litigation risks and evaluate your outcomes, at the same time, it is imperative to recognise and address the negative aspects and to make effective protections for the same.
Conclusion
Today, technology can be a valuable tool for increased risk management efficiency and proactivity. Through quick data collection, collaboration and reporting, you can access and manage your risks effectively, both before their occurrence and while the risk is ongoing.
If you are someone who is still skeptical on whether you should integrate technology in your management or not, prefer running a trial run on certain important aspects of risk management in your business, and depending upon the results, you can go forward with a complete implementation of automation processes. If you would like to speak with experienced professionals in the field, access LegaMart’s services to clarify your concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How can small and medium-sized enterprises use technology to mitigate litigation risk?
Today, technology can be customized and adapted based on your specific needs and budget constraints. When it comes to small and medium-sized businesses, cloud-based platforms can be a good start, which can help them receive protection in the form of document storage, case management, and collaboration.
What is the role of data analytics in litigation risk management?
Data analytics may be used to analyze large volumes of data and bring the required conclusion by identifying trends, patterns, and risks. For instance, predictive analysis may be used in forecasting potential outcomes by storing historical data.
