I met a lawyer named Alice the other day, who does a lot of unsophisticated work, as well as a bit of higher-end work. Through her looking glass, Alice does not spy Wonderland. Instead, she fears that much of the work that she is doing will become a commodity, and her competitors will flock to low-cost service providers who use technology to produce legal documents.
In her dark moments, Alice imagines that everyone is getting their legal documents on “getyourlegaldocshere[dot]com (a domain which I happen to own and am willing to sell to the highest bidder). Alice recently had a nightmare where she was dressed in rags and screaming “quality” and “strategy” into the void, but no one was listening.
H.L. Mencken said, “nobody ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the American public,” and we Canadians should not be smug and think that we are any smarter. I would not risk my money wagering that a great many consumers of low-end legal services are going to hire thoughtful, but more expensive, lawyers to draft their documents or process simple transactions. Nor would I bet that clients will make good decisions about where the line is between simple and complex matters that require more thoughtfulness than artificial intelligence is presently able to offer (emphasis on “presently.”)
So, what should Alice do? Well, to start with, she has to get out of Slumberland.
There are, of course, a number of districts in Slumberland. There is a slum, where lawyers fail to keep up with the latest technology which is available to help them do things like manage minute books, draft Wills, administer estates, and manage real estate transactions.
Then there are the lawyers living in uptown Slumberland. They are keeping up with the technology, but the difference between their services and the services of paralegals and unlicensed businesses handling things such as incorporations and Wills is difficult for the consumer to ascertain. If I cannot understand the difference between a Will drafted using an online service for $39.95 and one drafted by a lawyer for $800.00, I may be shopping online. And if the template for a nondisclosure agreement online is free, how much am I willing to pay a lawyer to draft a better one?
For Alice, this means: (1) she has to get out of Slumberland and find a way to migrate her practice to a better rent district where clients are willing to pay for a deep understanding of the law and strategic advice; and (2) to the extent that, as an ancillary service to her advisory practice, she needs to produce documents or process routine tasks, she needs the best legal tech available.
There may be a road to Wonderland, but Alice has to start looking for it before it is too late.
If you are wondering about the State of Canadian Legaltech and when you will get to Slumberland or Wonderland, check out Appara’s report here: https://appara.ai/news-and-insights/legal-automation-company-appara-releases-state-of-canadian-legaltech-report