by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – RESEARCH suggests 114 000 legal jobs will be lost globally over the next two decades due to automation.
However, other roles could emerge to handle the new technology.
This is according to an executive as the legal services industry undergoes rapid digitisation.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are transforming the profession.
This represents a major shift as historically, the law profession has been reluctant to adopt new technologies.
Riaz Moola, Chief Executive Officer of HyperionDev, noted the shift.
He explained why lawyers should embrace technology and what they can gain from learning coding.
“In fact, the legal sector is undergoing the digitisation that other industries have already experienced. Because it is very document-intensive, it’s an industry poised to benefit greatly from what technology can offer,” Moola said.
According to Moola, automation offers many benefits, including boosting a legal firm’s productivity.
A recent survey indicated the top three technologies in which lawyers are investing are contracts management (44 percent of firms), matter management (42 percent), and governance, risk, and compliance technologies (37 percent).
E-billing is another technology that will be increasingly invested in in future.
Moola highlighted why coding is important for lawyers.
“Like law, coding is based on logic and deductive reasoning,” Moola explained.
“It’s about finding solutions to practical problems. While the debate on whether lawyers should learn to code in law schools continues, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that having at least some knowledge of coding will give lawyers a competitive edge.”
For instance, lawyers involved in the world of tech and responsible for roles that include Patent Prosecution, Internet Protocol (IP) Licensing and IP Litigation can benefit massively from having a coding context.
HyperionDev has partnered with the University of Cape Town’s Law@Work to explore coding for lawyers.
– CAJ News