Legal Services Board Survey of Technological Innovation in the Legal Services Industry | News

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The latest findings detail the changes since the last survey in 2018

On 5 June, the Legal Services Board (LSB) released the results of its latest survey of levels of innovation and use of technology in legal services in England and Wales, which highlights how the pandemic has been a major factor in the use and increase trust in technology to provide legal services.

The 2022 survey involving more than 1,300 companies, last conducted in 2018, aims to assess the attitude of legal services companies and lawyers’ chambers towards the introduction of new technologies and service innovation within your company or organization. The survey asked respondents about the following areas: their perceptions of innovation and technology and the drivers that influence providers to develop services or use technology; the investment, goals, impact and constraints in developing and using new and improved services and specific technologies; and workplace culture and approaches taken when developing services or using technologies.

The LSB reports key findings, including: the most commonly reported impacts of new services are increased responsiveness to customer needs (94%) and reduced environmental impact; firms have introduced more new technologies in the last three years (61%); many companies have introduced access technologies, which can make it easier for people to use legal services; fewer firms have developed new or improved services in the last three years (21%) compared to 2018; compared to 2018, there have been fewer companies reporting specific restrictions on the development of services or on the introduction of new technologies; and there are significant variations in usage and experience depending on the type of firm, whether it is an alternative corporate structure, and the area of ​​law it focuses on. The survey also identifies differences in company age and size and where it is based in England and Wales.

Overall, more than nine out of ten companies believe that implementing new technologies has made them more responsive to customer needs, which is the most commonly reported impact and is also the most commonly reported important consideration for companies when implementing new technologies. The LSB also notes that the use of more advanced technologies such as technology-assisted review, predictive technology, robotic process automation and blockchain or distributed ledger technology is low at between two and five percent.

The LSB is currently developing new statutory guidelines for regulators on promoting the use of technology for access to legal services and will consult on these later this year.

Commenting on the findings, Alan Kershaw, chairman of the LSB, said: From artificial intelligence to videoconferencing, technology has the potential to greatly expand access to legal services and the LSB is committed to ensuring regulation unlocks its benefits for consumers and suppliers. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology, and we must use this momentum to foster a culture of innovation that designs services around consumer needs. While it is encouraging to see that the perception that regulation is a constraint on the introduction of new technologies has declined, several factors are still preventing wider adoption of the technology. Regulators must be proactive in understanding the opportunities and risks and remove barriers that prevent innovators from entering the industry and consumers from accessing services.

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