Lawyers typically spend large portions of their working day researching and drafting legal documents, which can be extremely time-consuming. However, advances in technology mean this is no longer always necessary. In this article, we’ll explain what document automation is, some of the main benefits and how it’s changing the law industry.
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What is document automation?
Document automation utilises your firm’s existing legal documents, such as leases, licenses, contracts, retainer agreements and estate planning documents to generate automated templates. These can be used to produce new legal documents in a fraction of the time it would take to write one from scratch. After creating a template, the document automation software will automatically populate the new document, either by pulling the data from other systems or using a guided questionnaire. Not only does this save time, but it also reduces the risk of human error and improves efficiency.
Document automation can be used on any scale, from a single contract to an entire set of legal documents and all this can be done in a matter of minutes rather than hours or days. It’s most useful for situations where the required documents don’t deviate hugely from the norm, for example, boilerplate contracts. And is less helpful in cases where custom drafted documents are needed.
What are the benefits to document automation?
There are many advantages to document automation systems, here are just a few.
More efficient
With documentation automation, you can say goodbye to the days of painstakingly drafting contracts and other documents from scratch and instead, you can create a whole range of legal documents in a fraction of the time, allowing you to work more efficiently.
Minimises the likelihood of mistakes
When lawyers create legal documents from scratch, the chance of them making an error or omission is increased. Document automation, often facilitated by legal temp services, reduces the risk of this, ensuring that documents are accurate and consistent across the board.
More profitable
Document automation frees up lawyers to work on other matters and engage more clients, which can lead to an increase in profitability.
Improved customer satisfaction
Document automation provides a better customer experience, leading to improved satisfaction and retention. It can also attract new tech-savvy clients who want quick, easy access to legal documents like contracts.
Knowledge retention
When an experienced lawyer leaves your firm, the knowledge and skills they’ve accumulated goes with them, however, document automation can ease this loss and speed up the onboarding process and training for new employees.
How is it changing the legal industry?
There’s no doubt that document automation is changing the legal industry. From how firms operate on a day-to-day basis and how they attract and interact with their clients. Automation is leading to faster turnaround times and increased profits for many legal firms as well as adding value to the customer experience and easing work pressures for lawyers. Even firms that have been slow to adapt to technological advances are beginning to embrace the advantages that document automation offers.
