Technology has made legal services more accessible than ever before. Here's how

By siliconindia  |  Friday, 07 May 2021, 03:27:46 PM IST

Technology has made legal services more accessible than ever before. Here's how

Legal services are something that most people hope they will never need. From bureaucracy and high lawyer fees to lengthy trials that ruin family relationships and incomprehensible legalese, there are many reasons why the average person hopes to avoid legal procedures as much as possible. And yet, life has many surprises, and most of us end up needing to hire a lawyer. Fortunately, technology has made legal services more accessible than they were for previous generations, so that not only is it easier to find professional services at a reasonable cost, but we are much more empowered in terms of access to education. 

Even though technology and law may not seem closely related, digital transformation hasn’t skipped legal services and, as you’ll see below, it has democratised their delivery. 

The Internet offers broader access to professional legal services.

Until not that long ago, if you needed a lawyer, you had to go through a long and complicated process to find one. More often than not, people relied on recommendations from friends and family, but just because your aunt’s divorce lawyer did a good job, that doesn’t mean the same lawyer will be able to help you on your personal injury case. Law, like medicine, is a highly specialised field, and it has dozens of subareas. If you cannot find someone who specialises in exactly that, you are alone. Without technology, one would have to visit multiple law practices until they found the right person, and that involves a lot of wasted time and money. Needless to say, people in smaller towns may not have that many options and would rather give up the idea of seeking justice instead of going to other cities to find someone. 

Fortunately, technology has changed all that. You no longer need to know someone who knows someone who can recommend you a lawyer or let your questionable neighbour lawyer help you for lack of other options. All respectable law offices nowadays have a solid online presence, and you can find them on Google and on dedicated legal platforms. All it takes is a simple “lawyer near me” search, and you have a list of websites you can analyse. You can even find reviews online and have the peace of mind that the person representing you really is experienced. You may even be able to compare legal services to make sure you’re making the right decision. 

Some practices have even gone the extra mile and integrated AI into the client experience. For example, they can offer AI-powered chatbots on their websites, which can help people in the early stages of the legal process, free of charge. This is a win-win situation because lawyers no longer waste time with simple, routine processes, and clients receive basic service without worrying about money. 

Technology facilitates legal education. 

The average person doesn’t have a law degree. They cannot explain things in legal terms, and they need their situation to be explained in plain English. What’s more, the average person often fails to seek legal services because they don’t know their rights. 

Unfortunately, there are many cases of people who were wronged and suffered damages because of someone else’s abuse or negligence, but they didn’t attempt to take legal action because they didn’t know they were eligible for compensation. That can lead to years of physical, financial, and emotional distress. For example, someone who was a victim of medical negligence or malpractice can lose their job and get into debt because they’re afraid of suing the hospital. After all, how can a single person with no legal knowledge fight back against an institution that has a huge budget and a team of experienced lawyers? In reality, you can. It is possible to sue a hospital, and if you have a strong case, you can receive compensation for both physical and emotional damages. In a similar way, it is possible to sue an employer and a big corporation and, if they failed to provide to you a duty of care, you would receive compensation. 

In the past years, the number of personal injury cases has increased globally, but that doesn’t mean that companies or hospitals are becoming sloppier. What changed is that people now know their rights and can “self-diagnose”. With so many sources of information out there, the average person can realise that they are entitled to compensation and follow the recommended legal procedure to get compensation. For example, someone who has been involved in a driving accident will learn that they have to keep all written evidence of personal injury and car damages and seek advice from a lawyer as quickly as possible. 

But not everyone has a case, and there are many instances where people hire a lawyer expecting compensation only to discover that it’s a losing game. One way to avoid this is to look for information on a dedicated legal platform and get a general idea if you should settle, go to court, or drop the case completely. Of course, each case has its own ins and outs, and you cannot predict everything in advance until you talk to a lawyer, but at least you get a general idea of what you should expect.

With that in mind, technology has helped dispel some long-standing myths about legal services. For example, one of the most common reasons why people don’t get in touch with a lawyer is because they imagine that the fees are too high. In reality, you can work with a “no win no fee” lawyer, who only charges a small percentage of your compensation if the case is successful. Another myth is that filing a claim against someone is too complicated, and it’s better to forget about it than worry about all the paperwork. In reality, the lawyer will take care of everything for you. 

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