Technology is radically changing the world in which we live. The legal industry has traditionally been slow to adopt new technology, this area is being changed, and the pace of that change is accelerating. For instance, today technology can actually play a role in preparing legal arguments. It is unlikely that AI will replace attorneys; however it is important that you understand the roles that technology can play today and how it will evolve over time.
Search and Retrieval
One of the key ways that technology assists in preparing legal arguments is by making access to the vast amount of data out there simpler and easier. Automated search and retrieval functionality allows you to employ advanced algorithms that help you find the information necessary to support your argument in seconds.
Analysis
Analytics provide you with the means to delve deep into information, sorting, parsing, collating, and organizing in order to take that raw information and transform it into something usable within your legal argument. Software makes this process faster than it would if a human being (or even an entire human team) were handling it.
Collaboration
Law firms benefit from the ability of technology to foster collaboration. In the past, collaboration was limited over long distances. Phone calls were fine for basic information, but poorly suited for situations in which greater context was needed. Today’s digital technology is robust enough that law firms can completely operate in the virtual world, including long-distance video collaboration to create compelling legal arguments.
Report Generation
With modern technology, you can automatically generate vital reports to support your legal argument, including witness reports, legal issue reports, and many others. Creating a report like this takes a very short period of time.
Argument Technology
While still in its infancy, argument technology does exist. There are many different types of argument software that can be used to help you build legal arguments and make existing arguments more compelling. However, it should be noted that at the time of this writing, there does not exist an algorithm that is capable of creating compelling, persuasive arguments on its own. With that being said, the day may come (and sooner than many might expect) when this is not the case. As more data is made available and more advanced AIs are created, machine learning capabilities will advance exponentially.
As you can see, technology can help in many ways when preparing legal arguments and it will only become more capable.
