As with every other industry, technology has become a tight-knit part of the legal profession. Digital transformation has redefined the way legal professionals practice law, effectively leaving behind lawyers who found the switch to digital challenging.

If integrating technology wasn’t hard enough, there have also been many changes to the way clients and the business itself should be approached.

But fear not, in the next few minutes we discuss which lawyer is necessary to succeed and if you fall into that category.

Here are some tips on which lawyer is necessary

1. A lawyer who embraces legal technology

Even though the legal industry was slower in adopting all the new bells and whistles, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Judging by the way legal tech is progressing, there seems to be great demand for innovation in the ways legal work can be done.

Great leaps have been made in the field of automation that solve the problem of losing time doing repetitive tasks. A lot of processes inherent to the legal profession can be automated, including the following

• Client intake process
• Time tracking and billing
• Document assembly
• Research
• Client communication

Automating these processes leaves you time to tackle other important issues.

It’s not only automation that can help you save time and improve productivity. As a lawyer, you’re well aware of how important contracts are and how much time is poured into drafting and reviewing them. This is where legal contract analysis software comes in.

The traditional way of reviewing contracts would demand time and attention to find all the important details in a contract. It’s understandable as an overlooked mistake in a contract could leave you or your client with a disaster in the future. But by taking advantage of legal document software solutions that analyze your document and automatically highlight all the key details, your effectiveness will increase twofold while also saving a great deal of time.

2. A lawyer who uses data and analytics

What if you applied the latest technological developments to something other than administrative tasks?

Artificial intelligence is at the forefront of innovation and is already being used to a great effect in practicing law, and data analysis is a great example of what machines can do.

While not yet necessary to stay relevant, AI-powered data analysis might just be what gives you an advantage over your equally tech-savvy competition.

Legal data analysis can be used for many things, but first and foremost, it’s used to make educated guesses on a multitude of issues. Outside of court, data analysis solutions can help you attract more clients by comparing you to your competitors, and analyzing how you perform in certain situations, etc. In court, analytics recognize patterns in how similar cases are performed in different courts, or how a particular judge ruled in a case comparable to your client’s case.

3. A lawyer who understands what their client needs

Clients these days expect more from their lawyers than they did in the past. It’s important to place yourself in your client’s shoes and offer a good customer experience that’s fast and affordable. But how do you do that?

The client-centric approach takes into account personal interaction, as well as a technological one. Technology can make it easier for your clients to communicate with you. For instance, an online chat function can make your services more accessible, while introducing digital signatures will keep your client’s journey smoother.

At the same time, more pricing options will help your clients gain added value, and ultimately, increase client satisfaction.

4. A lawyer who knows marketing

For starters, you can help drive traffic to your website by improving search engine optimization (SEO). With good SEO, your website will be ranked better in search engines. Imagine the number of new visitors you would get if your website wasn’t on the third page of Google.

Better yet, you can get even more traffic and offer more value to your clients by giving content marketing a try. A blog might be a good option to show off your expertise, but you don’t need to stop there. You can include images and infographics, videos, or even podcasts. This way, you gain even more visibility online while showing you know your stuff.

Before you start implementing a digital marketing strategy, you should also consider overhauling your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn for lawyers is a fantastic resource that you can leverage to your advantage. Approach it more professionally by having high-quality content, making your branding consistent, and being more active on the platform. These changes will help you get more online visibility, traffic, and recommendations. Ultimately, this can get you more clients.

A modern lawyer rolls with the changes

Who knows how to integrate technology into his workflow has a serious advantage. It doesn’t mean you need to become a tech guru – integrating all or some of the tools mentioned here will give you an edge on the competition.

Staying relevant also means you need to be aware of personal branding and how it can help you attract more clients. They will stay loyal if you give them what they want. It’s all about differentiating yourself from the crowd to extend your reach and win business. People hire lawyers for a number of reasons. By standing out with a strong and modern brand, you organically attract more clients and provide them with the nudge they need to pick you.