The first time I heard about Legal Tech I was networking with colleagues on a IBA Conference held in Rio de Janeiro many years ago.
While sipping my caipirinha during the opening ceremony, the conversation shifted to this “futuristic” solution called Legal-Tech. Although I pretended to find the conversation interesting, I just wanted to laugh: “Wait, what, you must be kidding me right? Technology and Robots doing our work?”. Still, I chose to quickly excuse myself and walk towards the Keynote Stage to hear Emerson Fittiipaldi’s speech.
During his speech, the youngest two time Formula 1 champion [1] stated that only four years after he founded Fittipaldi Automobile, he retired from F1 driving due to lack of technology to keep up with his racing competitors. That really resonated with me along with the echo of that new term “Legal Tech”. Lack of technology took out of competition a two time world champion. That really is a humbling lesson.
Till this day, I regret not asking my inquiries to my colleagues. If I had, then maybe we could have disrupted the legal industry earlier. Who is we? Patience. I’ll get to that point.
LegalTech is here and so will the USD 240 Billion [2] hit that law firms will take by 2030. Although in some ways LegalTech has been in the legal industry for decades, the pandemic did certainly accelerate the need for Law Firms to use these tech solutions. Many panicked and rushed into buying any techie solution that was on the market presuming that it was the first legal disruption. Most of them had been in the game for years.
Nowadays, when potential law firm clients are deciding which lawyer or firm to hire, not only do they focus on their legal expertise but also on what else they can offer. The table is bigger but to grab a seat we must add that extra mile. Clients and/or GCS see your LLM degrees as a given, they want lawyers who also have (i) a business mindset; (ii) management skills; and (iii) technology adaptability. Clients want a true business partner, also known as the Liquid Lawyer.
So what exactly is a Liquid Lawyer
Regarding technology adaptability, LegalTech industry is divided into 8 (maybe more) categories: (i) Lawsuit Trackers; (ii) Management Software; (iii) e-Contracts; (iv) eDiscovery; (v) Automated Processes; (vi) Online Legal Advice; (vii) Legal Marketplace; and (viii) Digital Entity.
LegalTech Industry in LATAM
LegalTech Industry in LATAM Focused on Efficiency 80% (Farmers) Lawsuit Tracker Contracts Management Billing Digital Entity $ Automated Process 20% CED Attorney Active Role Discovery Online Legal Advice Legal Marketplace Attorney Passive Role Legal Leads Generators Iconekta Focused in Business Generation 20% (Rainmakers)
Most of the LegalTech solutions seek to make lawyers be more efficient and reduce non- billable hours so they can deliver faster legal advice to their clients. But if that is true, then why are 44% [3] of law firm clients still unsatisfied with legal services? Why did Gunderson and Cooley recently lay off a significant amount of associates? [4]
This is where Iconekta enters the room. Remember when I said “we”? Iconekta is a trustworthy ecosystem with a legaltech platform that generates business opportunities between law firm clients generating them and the Law Firm revenue. What are clients expecting? Is it more than just legal advice? The answer is yes. Lawyers need to shift their mindset towards becoming business generators.
Welcome to the new LegalTech era, the 9th legal technology category focused on transforming lawyers into Liquid Lawyers that generate business with technology. You are all welcome to join.
Footnotes
[1] Emerson Fittipaldi was the youngest Formula 1 driver champion until 2005 when Fernando Alonso took his place
[2] McKinsey Global Institute
[3] Thomas Reuters
[4] The American Lawyer
Author: Alonso Indacochea PdZ is currently Indacochea & Asociados Managing Partner and Iconekta Founder & CEO. Iconekta is a legal-tech solution that generates -previously verified business opportunities for law firm clients, therefore creating a trustworthy ecosystem. Contact author at: [email protected]
