In the article 'The rise of the law firm legal product', we talked about what inspires and drives us to deliver the products our clients are expecting, as well as discussing what a legal product means to us at Addleshaw Goddard. Corporate legal departments – our clients – are exploring their own use of legal technology and, quite rightly, expect their law firm suppliers to use technology to deliver legal advice in the most appropriate and efficient way. Law firms using technology to enhance their method of delivery brings a wealth of advantages to corporate legal departments, including smoother processes, less admin, and even advice on-demand.  

Technology also enables us to differentiate ourselves. Our ever-expanding technological toolbox enables us to deliver a unique experience to our clients. At AG, we want to continue to work with our clients on key projects and the products we deliver are vital to making that happen. Our legal products focus on the following ways of working:

Enabling new ways of working

When selecting a supplier of legal services, there are myriad options available to corporate legal departments. Technology allows legal service providers to deliver their advice in a variety of different ways. When procuring legal services, corporate legal departments are increasingly thinking about which method of delivery is going to work best in the context at hand. For example, will it help the team to have instant access to a wealth of tailored legal and regulatory information that they can browse through at their leisure? Perhaps automatic reminders to file compliance reports?

AG began working in this space by developing and launching the Corporate Governance Portal. Clients needed a product that would help them to maintain good governance and regulatory compliance. Every in-house lawyer understands the risks to a business of not being aware of, understanding, or responding to changing regulatory requirements in a timely manner. Yet, the quantity of regulations to which in-house lawyers need to process and react continues to increase. Sifting through irrelevant, out-of-date information to find out which regulations apply is half the battle. AG's Corporate Governance Portal allows in-house legal teams to browse and search up-to-date, tailored information, making it easier to track deadlines and react more quickly. Importantly, our specialist lawyers curate the content and timely legal support is always available to help interpret the pertinent information.   

Automating manual processes

The legal industry is undergoing digital transformation. Automation is supplementing or even wholly replacing manual processes, made possible by harnessing technology. 

Products such as International Data Transfer Express allow corporate legal departments to deploy automation to address upcoming regulatory changes more quickly and more efficiently. Businesses can now keep track of the latest regulatory, legislative and judicial developments, as well as automatically review and, if necessary, amend legal documents to comply with the developments. The product also allows access to our specialist lawyers at the touch of a button. Using automation in this way reduces risk and processing time.

Optimising processes

Whilst automation offers greater speed, it is important to optimise any process before automating. Automating a less-than-optimal process simply makes it faster, not necessarily better, and not every element of every process will benefit from automation. In our experience, building a lawyer-to-lawyer touchpoint into an otherwise automated process allows the best of both 'worlds'. 

Products like AG Remediate allow our specialist regulatory compliance lawyers to add their legal advice seamlessly to an otherwise automated process. The product allows our lawyers to call on AI-powered document review tools as required, uncover detailed analysis of the information collected using data visualisation tools, as well as deliver real-time updates on progress using visual project management tools.  

The Future

The future of the legal product industry is an exciting one. Looking at the products already being utilised and those currently in design, shows that law firms are harnessing technology innovation and process improvements that form the basis of improved client service. AG is at the forefront of evolving technology, creating products that provide legal services more efficiently and in ways that will most benefit our client, but without losing the human touch. If you'd like to know more about the different ways to receive your legal advice, please get in touch.

For more information or any questions, please feel free to reach out and email me.

Alternatively, look at our Innovation and Legal Technology page on the website, where we have some blogs from others in the team and some case studies.

Key contact

James Whitaker

Senior Manager – Innovation and Legal Technology