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Many LegalTechs are supported by lawyers across the Channel. However, in France, the phenomenon remains marginal due to the numerous pitfalls that await the lawyers creating LegalTech. The obstacles result from various factors, both capital-related but also resulting from a problem of skills as well as the evolution of mentalities. Update on the temptation of the LegalTech start-up.

It is a fact that no legal professional can now escape: the legal market has entered a new era. Technological revolutions are shaking up the law and questioning the future: the specter of the Uberization of law, the fantasy of the robot lawyer, etc. New players who have arrived on the market in France since the 2010s, LegalTech thus crystallize a certain number of pipe dreams and preconceived ideas. So, are they really a threat to the legal profession? The point in this article.

The emergence of LegalTech: between disruption and upheaval of the legal market

Fundamentally disruptive, Legaltech breaks the codes and causes an upheaval in the legal market.

A difference in positioning on the legal market

The arrival of LegalTech allows above all a democratization of access to law. Indeed, LegalTech has the advantage of making the law more accessible, which let's be clear, really needs it...!

They therefore fill a gap, a void in the legal market. By offering simple and general legal information, some LegalTechs target clients ignored by lawyers because they have low potential or those who would not dare to walk through the door of a firm.

And if these “small” tips are sometimes enough in certain cases, the best example is found in the models of legal acts such as company statutes, clients sometimes come up against their limits. To go beyond the general model, the expertise of a lawyer often proves essential to deliver a precise, personalized and detailed analysis.

New markets, new challenges

Thus, LegalTech companies are identifying new client needs by capturing a market segment neglected by lawyers. Seizing these new markets then becomes an opportunity for lawyers to exploit, requiring them to rethink their service offerings to adapt to this new competition.

What can lawyers do? Conquering these new markets requires implementing a different value proposition , one with high added value but also higher prices, coupled with a now essential digital presence. Offering more transparent services and pricing is also an advantage of LegalTech, which lawyers will need to embrace to attract clients.

Another avenue to study is the “one-stop shop for law” bringing together legal professionals. This synergy of skills is also encouraged by the legislator who has made interprofessionality possible since the law of August 6, 2015.

The new horizons opened up by LegalTech: disruption and innovation

From this disruption comes new opportunities. LegalTech, far from constituting a looming threat, rather aims to become an essential aid in the future.

Daily assistance in managing the practice

While some LegalTechs offer services that directly compete with lawyers, this is not the case for all. Moreover, the competition from these Legaltechs should clearly be put into perspective because it mainly occurs in a rather low-cost segment of the legal market.

In reality, it's important to remember that the essence and initial purpose of LegalTech is to be technology serving the law . This is true for the vast majority of LegalTech companies, which provide daily support and assistance to legal professionals through new tools. They work alongside lawyers to offer innovative and, above all, practical solutions for everyday use.

They offer the possibility of eliminating tedious, time-consuming, and repetitive tasks through automated document drafting, simplified billing, and collaborative work, among other things. Practice management solutions like Jarvis Legal, for example, allow for efficient and innovative day-to-day management of the firm. Other possibilities, still in their infancy, now exist thanks to LegalTech: document security via blockchain, development of legal databases based on artificial intelligence, and more.

The possibility of reinventing oneself: towards the augmented lawyer

Adopting these new tools often allows professionals to save considerable time and improve productivity. The only remaining question is: how to effectively repurpose this saved time? Lawyers can then focus on their added value , the part of their work that cannot be replaced by technology.

In other words, the lawyer of tomorrow will focus on personalized, specific advice tailored to each situation. Therefore, developing and improving client relationships will be crucial in the future. In reality, it's clear that everyone is meant to stay within their area of ​​expertise: Legaltech companies provide assistance and support, but they are not about to offer legal advice, as that is not their core business.

As Schumpeter demonstrated, while innovation can be destructive, it is also, and perhaps more importantly, creative. The emergence of LegalTech is pushing lawyers to adapt and reinvent themselves, becoming "augmented" lawyers who can leverage the new opportunities offered by technology.

Today, LegalTech obviously represents a real opportunity for lawyers. With their potential for agility and creativity, they are shaking up the traditional world of law. There is only one step left for them to be fully integrated into the legal ecosystem following the model of the United States, where they have been developing at high speed since the 2000s.

In 2016, more than three million decisions, civil and criminal litigation combined, were handed down in the courts. However, Legifrance has only disseminated around 13, or only 000 to 3% of the total... But with the programming law for justice of March 4, 23, the revolution of open data of court decisions is seemingly he walks. Litigants and legal professionals could benefit from this major novelty. So, what exactly can we expect from the opening of justice data?

Good client relations constitute the pillar of a successful firm. However, customer satisfaction remains the weak link in many firms. Some clients even go so far as to believe that lawyers only constitute “poor value” for them, to use the terms of a study carried out among 20 clients. So how can we combat this perception? Here are some key actions to implement to improve your customer satisfaction.

Even if the eternal skeptics turn their heads and look elsewhere, the worm is indeed in the fruit. Like many professions, lawyers see their economic model challenged by new technologies. Far from being anecdotal, it is the result of profound changes in society. Update on the evolution of the legal profession tomorrow.

Nomination and Jarvis Legal organized a morning debate around “Digital transformation, a new El Dorado for law firms? ". They shared their feedback with the participants present during this event, rich in lessons and rich exchanges around a subject which is becoming central in the strategy of firms.

With more than 66 lawyers in France in 000, the profession is close to saturation. In this competitive atmosphere, the importance of having an entrepreneurial approach to managing a law firm is increasingly confirmed in the future. What are the profile and skills of this new lawyer entrepreneur? What are the challenges and tools essential to transforming the law firm of tomorrow?

The importance of adopting an entrepreneurial approach

The need to introduce a more commercial approach to its management is dictated today by the specific context of the profession. The number of lawyers is increasing, which encourages a certain degree of competition.

Thanks to the internet, new services , sometimes of questionable quality, are accessible to everyone (for example, a "personalized" contract template online in just a few clicks, etc.). While these services will never replace professional advice, they do create confusion in the minds of those seeking legal recourse.

Better informed, at least on the surface, the modern client increasingly cultivates this very contemporary need for transparency and maximum availability . For example, they need to understand your billing and fees, and even compare them to those of other firms. Being able to easily contact you on different devices (smartphone, computer, etc.) and get a quick response has also become essential today.

In other words, this quest for transparency only accentuates for you the need to be profitable and competitive.

2 examples of loopholes opened by the law

Entrepreneurship is on the rise… Even among lawyers! 2 legislative examples inviting a more commercial approach from firms:

The Macron Law No. 2015-990 of August 6, 2015, made interprofessional collaboration possible , meaning an economic alliance between legal professionals—accountants, bailiffs, insolvency practitioners, notaries, and of course, lawyers. They can now choose to work together within the same legal structure (an interprofessional practice company). This is a major opportunity to combine their services and operate as a business, something that was previously impossible.

It is also worth highlighting Decree No. 2014-1251 of October 28, 2014, which allows lawyers to engage in personalized solicitation and advertising . Although still relatively untapped, this new development is, upon closer examination, a true revolution in the legal world. It aligns with a business dynamic, as it simply aims to emphasize the firm's differentiating factor compared to others (innovative brand, niche specialty, etc.). This pursuit of differentiation is crucial from an entrepreneurial perspective because it allows you to showcase your added value , stand out, and better market your services.

The opportunities offered by Legal Tech

The development of technological innovations in the legal market has enabled previously non-existent services to now be well established and efficient.

The emergence of these new players, combining technical and legal expertise, allows lawyers to delegate a number of tasks that an entrepreneur has to do on a daily basis.

Thanks to modern and innovative tools like those offered by Jarvis Legal in its management solution—client tracking via CRM, time tracking, connected API, billing tool, etc.—your day-to-day management of your firm is simplified. Where it used to be long and tedious, it's now quick and easy thanks to new technologies.

This time saving frees up precious hours to focus on core business activities. But it's also the best way for lawyers, supported in managing their practice, to more easily embrace their entrepreneurial role!

Finally, how do you become a lawyer entrepreneur?

The entrepreneurial spirit adapted to a law firm is based on 3 major points:

• Invest and innovate to attract talent, to develop and improve the daily life of the firm. This is the essence of an entrepreneur's approach: understanding that taking risk and investment ARE necessary to hope to grow and grow your business further. Thinking long term is essential to fully develop yourself. For example, investing in modern solutions, in a new employee, etc.
• Putting profitability first : Profit is the reason for the existence of the company. For the lawyer, it should no longer be a bad word! There financial management must be automated and rigorously organized like that of a business.
• Measure and monitor your performance : the implementation of performance indicators makes it possible to measure the impact of all its actions: number of contacts collected via the firm's website, impact of this or that new activity developed in the firm, the number of hours spent on a file (to be able to explain it to the client!), etc. What we measure grows. It’s therefore an excellent way to focus on what works best and improve what works least.

All facets of an entrepreneur are basically already present in the daily life of a lawyer: marketing, sales, accounting, customer relations, etc. Relying on Legal Tech tools allows you to overcome the final limits that prevent you from developing your firm like an accomplished business lawyer.

Over the last 6 years, we have been able to support hundreds of firms in their change process. We have been privileged witnesses to a considerable number of different situations and contexts.

Through this eBook, we wanted to share our feedback by highlighting the key points of a successful project. Each firm has its own problems, its own challenges and constraints. This best practice guide will allow you to ask yourself the right questions and put them in the right order to take full advantage of technological innovations and put them to the service of the firm.

👉 Download your copy now: https://bit.ly/2VDNSJP

Jarvis Legal was present at Electrochoc Numérique in Brussels on December 13, 2018.

After a cocktail lunch at Brasserie 28 by Caulier organized with my-lawyer.be, Jarvis Legal was present at the unmissable event organized by Me Stanislas van Wassenhove.

On the program, numerous round tables and workshops about the digital revolution and the principles of transparency, transversal innovation and collaboration linked to it.

The event was a great success both in terms of the conferences and the numerous quality interventions by the experts present and in the demonstration area where many Legaltech champions were present to present their solutions and the advantages they provide.

LIVE from the#ElectrochocDigital 3
Come meet us on our stand, full of new products just for you Masters!#Lawyers #DigitalSolution #LegalTech pic.twitter.com/2i1Q3N4kLX

— Jarvis Legal France (@JarvisLegal_FR) December 13, 2018

A big thank you to Me Stanislas van Wassenhove for organizing this unmissable meeting!