Practicing law is not a mere exercise of the mind. Yes, being an effective attorney requires a tremendous amount of knowledge. But there is as much intuition in law as there is any other industry. The thing about legal intuition is that it is hard to come by. It also takes a long time to develop.
Fortunately for new attorneys just coming of age, legal software is changing the dynamic. Good software is helping new attorneys get better faster by improving the speed at which they develop their intuition. The tools they have available to them in the 21st century allow them to hone their intuitive skills much faster than their counterparts from earlier generations.
Scoring Big with Artificial Intelligence
NuLaw, the Fort Lauderdale developers of a legal case management software of the same name, suggest that artificial intelligence is one of the most important developments in legal software at the current time. It is being deployed to improve case acquisition, generate better data, and handle many of the mundane tasks that previously occupied an attorney’s time.
In short, artificial intelligence is making new attorneys more efficient and more knowledgeable. Efficiencies like automated calendaring and contract review free new attorneys up from tasks that do not really enhance their professional development. This gives them more time to spend actually practicing law. And the more time they spend practicing, the more quickly their intuition is developed.
Scoring Big with Big Data
Another big influence in modern legal software is big data and the analytics that come from it. Big data’s influence was not only the precursor to artificial intelligence, it continues to be the foundation on which case management software is built. It is an understatement to say that data is everything in the modern software world.
Imagine having access to an unending stream of analytics data that tells the new attorney everything he or she wants to know about the state of the practice. In an instant, attorneys can analyze billable hours. They can analyze what they have done for each hour, where time was wasted, and how time can be managed better.
How does this sort of thing help make lawyers better? By making certain things second nature. For example, a new attorney who utilizes analytics to get a good handle on how to generate billable hours will eventually find him/herself in a place where he/she no longer has to constantly look at the numbers. He or she will innately know whether or not he/she is producing the required billable hours.
It’s like anything else. Practice long enough and you develop intuition regarding that particular task. Big data and analytics offer attorneys greater opportunities to practice in shorter periods of time. It’s like practice on steroids. It develops intuition much faster.
They Need Room to Work and Grow
NuLaw is quick to point out that software alone doesn’t make new attorneys better faster. Software is just a tool like anything else. Maximizing its benefits as a learning tool requires a different mindset. It requires the necessary room to work and grow.
New attorneys micromanaged from the minute they step into the office are attorneys who will only benefit from technology to a limited degree. If they are not given the room to use their software to its fullest potential, they will only grow at a pace acceptable to senior partners. But take off those constraints and let them go, and there’s no telling what they are capable of.
The latest in legal software can do some amazing things. Used properly, it can make new attorneys better faster.