Technology: A Crucial Aid in Advancement of Legal Industry

By:  Shant Berwal, CEO, Legal Resolved - Legal Solution Provider

The stride of technology in the past decade has been an emphatic reminder of the future prophesied by George Orwell in his famous novel ‘1984’. Anything touched upon by technology undergoes rapid transformation, and so has it been with the sector of legal advice and assistance. Legal services was in fact never an industry, but only constituted services offered by lawyers to clients; but with the advent of technological interface collaborating with legal services, the latter has now evolved into an industry in itself. The services are no more person-to-person, but go through an intermediary who acts as a service provider connecting the clients to lawyers, and pumps in several benefits to both parties in the transaction.

Technology and digitalization has transformed the way people consult lawyers, avail legal advice and manage contracts, documents and all corporate requirements. Any person with an internet connection can visit the websites of online legal platforms, and choose lawyers with a stipulated experience and expertise to seek advice or to book a consultation. Apart from giving the option to clients to choose from various lawyers, it considerably decreases the time taken in completing the entire process. Eliminating the requirement of personal meeting with lawyers and replacing it with the simpler process of posting an online query, online legal platforms reduce the time by about 90% in contrast to actual consultation.

While it would be too much to say that Indian legal sector has undergone a complete transformation, it is certain that a change is taking over the way legal consultation is done in India, and it is constant though gradual. More and more people are becoming aware of the scope of availing various legal services including advice and pre-booked consultations online, and the benefit accrues to those who require legal assistance at a location different from where they are. Online assistance has come especially to the aid of overseas clients in matters like disposing of property,without having to come down solely for that purpose. Same goes for those caught up in busy schedules of work, but requiring legal assistance in drafting a Notice, reviewing their contractual agreement, or looking to buy property; all they need to do is approach a reliable online legal platform, and thereon rest assured that the latter would take care of all the rest.

Technology has taught humans to look for shortcuts everywhere and find the easiest way to get things done at the least efforts, and why not, if it saves time and brings better results? The same goes true for legal sector, and the integration of technology widens the scope of its functioning, bringing within its ambit a plethora of services that previously could not be included in it. Initiative taken by online legal platforms in spreading awareness to people and bringing legal aid to their fingertips with the help of technology is laudable.