Adam Wells Third Era Of Legal Innovation In Today's Legal Industry

Individual Second Assignment

Jake Campbell

FAN: camp0499 Student ID: 2277070

Word Count: 2000

College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University

LLAW1300 Legal Innovation

28 April 2023

I INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM SPACE

In what can best be described by Adam Wells of Blue J Legal as the 'third era of legal research', today's legal industry has seen unparalleled growth in innovation, clarity and accuracy. The vast amount of technological advancements has made a legal professional's life easier, as well as everyday individuals'. Today, any legal problem is a short internet search away. Nonetheless, this online transformation, ultimately accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has left a gap in the sector requiring development.

Likewise, I contacted an administrative lawyer working within a small northern suburb's community legal clinic (Lawyer B) . Both individuals remained anonymous for accurate and honest feedback and have been classified as Lawyers A and B. While I had a preliminary list of questions to ask (Figure X), the discussions became conversational. As such, both individuals could explain some advantages, disadvantages, suggestions, and issues to consider if I was to move forward with this legal innovation. From the perspective of Lawyer A, it was uncovered that this idea would greatly benefit. They stated, 'implementing this could lead to cost savings for us at [law firm] as we would no longer need to invest in expensive physical storage solutions.' However, they did note that although they may be saving money from storage solutions, the innovation would 'require significant investment in upgrading technology and training staff.' While they suggested at their firm, it would be considerably low due to the small team, more prominent firms spread over several countries may find a complete 'technological overhaul' challenging. An interesting statement made by Lawyer A was the discussion that law schools should be implementing topics, such as digital software training and digital technology

In this era of law, many individuals have provided their thoughts and views on digital innovation in the legal sector. As such, this has enabled me to discover unique areas that I have not yet identified in my issue. For example, one secondary source used during the research phase was 'The Use of Technology by Gold Coast Legal Practitioners.' Based on findings from a study of lawyers in the Gold Coast, the article disputes the notion that traditional law firms are resistant to technology and makes the case that small and medium-sized firms are embracing digital transformation. Although not in Adelaide, this source can provide local law firms with clear evidence that digitisation has been successful within Australia and predominantly within smaller civil firms. Whilst not entirely relevant to the legal issue at the end, another secondary source found was 'The Ur-controversy of Civil Justice.' This article touched on similar subjects to Lawyer B, stating that although many Australians face legal issues, very few engage with the formal civil justice system due to costs, delays, complexity, and inaccessibility. To summarise, secondary sources, such as these two, provide a range of viewpoints and perspectives on the issue and allow a more in-depth understanding of the legal issue and solutions used. Likewise, they are readily accessible to the public without the