After more than two years of bearing the coronavirus and the pandemic, it can be safely said that Covid-19 variants have changed the way we communicate and network. And the legal industry was not an exception. Let us determine how the Covid-19 pandemic affected the legal industry.
The Pandemic Ushered the Legal Industry into the Digital Age
Technology assumed greater importance with Covid-19, as physical and social interactions were curbed, and people had to rely on the remote working mode. More about the same as described here.
1. Digitalization
Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype Meet, Google Meet, and Webex are platforms that helped the legal industry. They served as alternatives to in-person depositions, motion hearings, and courtroom testimonies. Motions were uploaded, and client meetings took place. However, the legal protocols and procedures found it challenging to become virtual.
2. Cloud-based Technologies
Cloud-based technologies have become popular tools across law firms. Many law firms invested in serverless architecture to streamline the digital processes, enhance scalability, and accessibility, and save on expenses. With the new inclusion of digital processes, law firms could focus more on what matters, and that is their clients.
3. Consumer-centric Approach
The law industry post-Covid-19 has made practicing law digitally easier, and clients can engage in online counseling sessions. An important aspect that revolutionized the industry is that clients could be given better service at greater speed due to the use of digital means.
4. Better Productivity
This industry is now a marketplace. Consumers seek service providers that can offer direct solutions to legal problems. This has led to better production of services and optimizing client experience. Service commoditization has led to the increased virtual vetting of law firms and lawyers and consumer reviews of the services. Online reviews help you zero in on the right law firm.
5. Improved Digital Age Accountability
If there is digitalization, there is enhanced accountability too. You get to enjoy quantifiable results on time. If any law firm wants to prosper and earn accolades for its services, it must be more accountable and transparent in its dealings. More than getting into disagreements with their clients, lawyers are more concerned about earning negative reviews on the internet for their services. As such, they have become more accountable. It was found that during the pandemic, the legal industry fostered consumer empowerment. In due course, people started getting used to the remote way of working and started enjoying the promptness of the online services.
So, by digitalization, the legal industry managed to come at par with the other segments that better adapted to the new normal.
