Technology is no doubt having a significant impact on several industries and how professionals work, the legal profession is no exception.
The advancement of technology has helped improve lawyers’ efficiency, enabling them to take on more work than previously possible.
Now, a great deal of work is outsourced partly to technology and certain practices are modernized to make tasks easier.
Virtual hearings, digital case management, online research databases, digital contracts, and computer simulations, among others, are some of the technological solutions transforming the legal industry and increasing productivity.
Beverly Agbakoba Onyejianya, associate partner, Olisa Agbakoba Legal talks to us about this legal incorporation and why startups need to take legal matters seriously.
CFA: Beverly, glad to have you on the show today.
Beverly: I’m happy to be here with you Fred.
CFA: A lot is happening in the legal profession today and I would like to get your opinion on how technology has affected the legal profession.
Beverly: Okay, great question. As we all know we’re living in a digital world right now. Every two minutes, millions and millions of data are bounding and passing through the internet, metaverse you name it and the legal profession has not been spared from that influence and I think it’s a good thing, it’s a good thing because we’ve finally broken those traditional, conventional boundaries that have held us back too much in the legal profession, that have held us back from interacting with each other, that have held back from reaching the masses, the public.
Previously, when you think about getting a lawyer, it tends to be what rich people do, it tends to be what conglomerates do, IOCs, etcetera etcetera.
But right now, thanks to the internet, and legal tech, we’re finding more and more platforms are very focused on proliferation and building awareness, you know your rights, many people don’t know their rights, we take basic things like knowing the constitution for granted.
Some legal platforms have dedicated their cause to informing and enlightening the public. Now let’s talk about remote hearings, let’s talk about access to justice, you know prior to COVID, it was unheard of, why on earth would you have conducted a remote hearing but then think about the expenses incurred, you know let’s say the jurisdiction of that matter, let’s even look at arbitration, for instance, the issues we’ve had with the arbitration in Nigeria.
CFA: The question is, is the Nigerian legal system adopting or accepting this digital disruption enough?
Beverly: I think naturally there’s always a bit of a hesitation when it comes to change, let’s face it, we’re creatures of habits and the legal profession is not exempt but I think even my learned senior colleagues, the learned judges, the honorable judges, they’re all beginning to see that there is some merit for instance as I gave you previously in having remote hearings. Unfortunately, this is not widespread across the country evenly…(watch full here)
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