Technology For A Changing Marketplace: How Better Technology Can Increase Access To Justice
Technology can increase access to justice, but how do you know which is best?
Access to justice is a phrase that can be difficult to define. Some consider it a problem, pointing to shortfalls in the ability of everyone to access the courts and obtain adequate legal representation. Others speak of it as a means of rectifying that shortfall — and that’s where legal technology can play a crucial role. In today’s digital age, technology can go a long way toward increasing access to justice.
The realities of today’s legal market demand reliance on technology. After all, we all know that time is money when it comes to the practice of law. Technological advances have drastically increased attorney efficiency and cut down on wasted time. Thanks to technology, tasks that were previously impractical or impossible are now routine and expected. But technology isn’t just about saving time. Too often, we ignore the fact that technology has the ability to make us better lawyers. It can help us work better and faster, allowing us to bring the focus back to servicing the non-legal community. Technology, therefore, has a real ability to increase access to justice if the right products exist in both a direct and indirect way.
How Technology Directly Increases Access to Justice
There’s no question that technological advances have broadened people’s access to justice in a very literal way. For starters, online resources now provide an abundance of information for self-represented litigants, helping to demystify what was formerly an inscrutable process for anyone lacking a law degree.
In addition, technology such as customizable templates and document assembly software make it much easier for inexperienced litigants to properly file documents with the court and produce court-worthy papers that won’t be rejected.
These advances have undoubtedly made it easier for everyone to access the courts and have made legal proceedings more understandable for everyday people. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Technology’s Ability to Indirectly Increase Access to Justice
Technology has the unique ability to free up lawyers to better serve their clients. With the right resources, attorneys can devote their attention to what they’re doing rather than worry about how it gets done. To capitalize on the freedom technology offers, however, we need to constantly update and find ways to improve it. We need to rely on those using legal technology, including law students, to help determine what lawyers really need from the products they use. Only then can we ensure they have the best resources at their disposal.
To that end, Thomson Reuters recently tapped the brains of tomorrow’s legal stars to gain insight into what they most wanted to see in legal technology. We recently hosted the Product Design Challenge, where teams of students from five law schools worked to develop improvements to the offerings of Thomson Reuters Practical Law Connect. The purpose was to get to the core of what truly makes certain products or software useful for the practicing lawyer.
Above all else, the results highlighted technology’s potential to increase access to justice. Each of the groups shared a common goal: to develop technology to make legal services more accessible to the average person. Chief among priorities were giving better insight to clients about the legal process and creating better access to the courts.
While many software developers tend to focus on design aesthetics — things like attractive interfaces and pretty color schemes — our day with these law students showed us that functionality is what really matters. While it’s great if an application looks nice, it’s more important that it serves as a useful bridge between the real world and the legal world.
Product development needs to take into account the technology’s end goal — to best serve the client. The law school perspective is crucial to developing cutting-edge legal products. Every new crop of lawyers brings new needs to the market, and technology must evolve to meet those needs for clients to receive the best possible representation.
At Thomson Reuters, we’re committed to creating products that work for you so you can focus on what matters — serving your clients. By enabling better, faster work, we can strive to provide access to justice for all.
