Legal firms today are navigating the complexities brought on by rapid technological advancements and sophisticated cyber threats. The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and emerging technologies is transforming legal functions and broader business operations at an unprecedented pace.
Increased productivity comes with heightened exposure to risks, such as data privacy breaches, regulatory scrutiny, ransomware threats and reputational damage. Enhanced capabilities to access, manipulate and analyse vast amounts of data are pushing legal professionals and policymakers to strike a balance. Legal firms must weigh up the potential of adopting these technologies to drive change against the risk of compromising sensitive personal information.
The speed at which legal firms can realise value through the rapid adoption of AI and automation is accelerating. Legal firms and their clients are already benefiting from reduced fees, while more progressive firms are exploring opportunities for self-service automations, enabling lawyers to save hundreds of hours.
Advanced law firms are leveraging data-driven insights to extract details from existing repositories of information, a game-changer since gen AI can analyse documents more deeply than humans, delivering more value from the data, in much shorter timescales. Legal firms that can harness this technology will enable lawyers to create more value than ever, making this a significant battleground in the coming years.
SCC will be there to support you at this evolutionary time. We never stand still and want to continually see our legal customers succeed through the powerful use of technology. That passion for supporting our customers success is the ethos on which SCC was built and it continues to drive us forward.
AI's role in legal practices is poised for a transformative shift, significantly improving the accessibility and efficiency of legal services. This future envisions legal professionals using AI tools to focus on strategic tasks, reducing labour-intensive work. Thoughtful and strategic engagement with AI technologies is essential to improve the speed, cost, quality, and reach of legal services.
Law firms are prime targets for cybercriminals due to their sensitive data. Firms dealing in corporate or property law are especially at risk. With legal firms now relying heavily on more SaaS application, phishing scams are prevalent. As 86% of cyberattacks begin with phishing according to Cisco, employee cyber training, passkeys such as biometrics and two factor authentication are essential.
The application of AI will significantly enhance the understanding of legal data, making it richer and more interconnected to various functions within a firm. To harness this potential, law firms must develop robust data strategies, employ data specialists and train lawyers in data analysis. A comprehensive data strategy is essential for deriving strategic insights and ensuring that data becomes a cornerstone of customer-centricity.