The reality of legaltech and the analysis of success stories were the centrepieces of a recent session organised by ESADE Law School and Lefebvre at ESADEFORUM. The session featured the participation of Eugenia Navarro, Lecturer of Strategy and Legal Marketing at ESADE Law School; María de la O Martínez, Director of Product Innovation at Lefebvre; Isabella Galeano, founder of the Technolawgist and Academic Assistant at ESADE Law School; and Laia Moncosí, founding partner at Lawyers for Projects.

Technology for its own sake makes no sense, according to the panellists. The common theme of the session, however, was the notion that legaltech is poised to become a differential factor for law firms and has a promising future. The speakers noted, however, that legaltech should not be applied without a well-defined objective. 

According to Ms. Martínez, the economic crisis was the event that mobilised companies to demand different and innovative things from law firms. “The public administration has also promoted change,” she commented. “Spain is the eighth most advanced country in the world in legaltech, and this fact will force SMEs and law firms to advance even if they don’t want to.” 

The speakers also highlighted one of the main barriers identified in Lefebvre’s recent study of innovation in the legal sector: fear. Ms. Galeano commented: “To a large extent, the scepticism is fuelled by the fact that we don’t know what it all means. This is why it’s important to separate the legal part – for example, the regulation of facial recognition, the transmission of blockchain tokens, etc. – from the technological part that can really aid us in our work as lawyers.”

This fear of legaltech can also arise when a lawyer or business adviser does not have a good understanding of its scope. “In many cases, it’s not about just implementing software but changing an entire work dynamic,” commented Ms. Martínez. Ms. Moncosí argued that there should be “different speeds depending on the size and type of the law firm”. She added: “Legaltech involves very complex solutions that rely on artificial intelligence, but it also offers very simple document-management and cloud-storage solutions that are very easy to implement.” 

Legaltech has driven the emergence of new corporate models in which bar membership and the figure of the partner no longer carry as much weight as they once did. The success of talent platforms provides a good example. With the advent of Lawyers for Projects, this model is now entering Spain. “This is a hub currently made up of more than 50 talented lawyers who work on a project-by-project basis for clients who are interested in using a different sort of model that provides first-class advice, greater approachability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” explained Ms. Moncosí, the founder of the platform. “We use technology in different areas such as process automation, cloud-based document management and business development through a kanban-based CRM.”

Although legaltech is still in its infancy in Spain, law firms have started taking it into account when hiring new lawyers. “In environments as competitive as law firms, knowledge of legaltech can quickly become a differential factor when it comes to hiring candidates,” commented Ms. Galeano. “It will be increasingly important for lawyers to understand how technology can improve the presentation of legal services and how the law regulates essential issues such as artificial intelligence.”

The legaltech tools having the greatest effect on law firms and companies are those related to contract management and the automation of the hiring process. “These are the ones that are having a tangible impact on companies, because this is an area where large volumes of documents are handled, where repetitive tasks are common, and they affect a key element for minimising the risk that companies are exposed to,” explained Ms. Galeano. “From the viewpoint of law firms, the tools that facilitate tasks related to internal management, research and document analysis are the ones that are going to be adopted first.