Various start-ups enabling law firm lawyers to conduct their day-to-day tasks digitally have been introduced by legal-tech companies.

 Covid-19's immediate impact is felt throughout sectors and market segments, necessitating a variety of urgent responses while planning for the best potential future. For both the economy and the legal system, the COVID-19 problem is unique. Legal executives must be prepared for a variety of eventualities, the likelihood of which will be determined by the efficacy of public-health and economic-policy actions. 

Legal Sector Combating Covid-19 

The legal profession in India has been adversely affected by the novel Coronavirus, as has been the case in other countries. While India is now dealing with the after-effects of the pandemic, let's go back to March 2020, when India's Prime Minister declared a complete national lockdown with only four hours' warning. Citizens' access to justice, which was meant to be available at all times, was abruptly closed. 

The road to reopening these doors, as the doors to justice abruptly converted into virtual doors, has been the truly distinguishing feature of our times. And it was during this shift that the profession's backbone, the country's lawyers, suffered the largest losses. This is because, while the country's top lawyers, the legal falcons, were mostly unaffected, the wallets of lawyers who served the lowest rung of society were severely impacted. Apart from not having cases to fight, the issue of accessibility was the most difficult for them to overcome, since not all of the lawyers had (and still do not have) a functional internet connection, much alone the technical know-how to operate it.

The COVID-19 problem has had a significant influence on how law firm lawyers interact with their colleagues, clients, and in the courtroom. Remote work and virtual collaboration tools have unquestionably become essential for business survival and customer service. Unsurprisingly, law firms want to keep investing in legal technology. 

LegalTech to the Rescue 一

“The organizations that already leveraged technology were the ones that were best prepared to meet this crisis head-on and continue to serve their clients with a minimum of disruption.”

 一 Bob Ambrogi

Technology is sweeping the globe, and the previous several decades have demonstrated how this burgeoning and ever-evolving sector has transformed the way we work, communicate, and go about our daily lives. While some businesses can withstand change, the legal profession is on the verge of being completely transformed. Legal technology has created a new market with a plethora of possibilities. The rising use of computerized litigation database systems, for example, has spawned a new profession known as litigation support specialists. As a result, lawyers are now obligated to collaborate with specialists from other professions. Special Counsel emphasizes that forming a collective collaboration with experts from many technological fields can aid in the development of more efficient service delivery methods.

While most lawyers today grew up in an era when technology was still in its infancy, legal technology now requires all lawyers to be computer literate and tech-savvy to fully benefit from its advancements. Clients often expect their lawyers to be reachable via numerous channels and to have information about their cases and files readily available. Technology in Law Today's society is quick to point out that legal abilities are no longer the primary criterion for being a great lawyer–it also depends on how many new ideas a lawyer can bring to bear on important concerns.

LegalTech to unravel the abrupt halt 一

Being a lawyer is an arduous task. Right off the bat, studying law already entails having to read case after case, and practicing law often ends up making Lawyers being so preoccupied with their work that they do not have time to think about their growth in the profession. Lawyers may now afford to study deeper into their profession while still focusing on professional progress and becoming more competitive as legal technology boosts efficiency and makes time-consuming duties more feasible.

Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the judicial system, which was based on an antiquated model of dispensing justice and providing legal services. Traditionally, the procedure was to attend in person before the court to have one's case heard. The pandemic, on the other hand, has forced the legal profession to rely on technology, such as virtual hearings or videoconferencing, where counsels and attorneys may appear online for their cases while sitting in their own homes. Lawyers, too, have the benefit of having client meetings and delivering answers to their customers through the internet. The outbreak has changed the way lawyers and other legal professionals operate. It has improved the opportunity for legal firms to digitally change. Students have adapted to online learning as law schools have gone digital and converted to an online method of instruction. Technology has not only stayed in the top legal organizations, but has also been invested in by small legal companies and, more interestingly, legal tech startups. Pandemic has played a key influence and created tremendous potential for legal tech businesses to provide legal aid in all areas. 

Various start-ups enabling lawyers and law firms to conduct their day-to-day tasks digitally have been introduced by legal-tech companies. Legal solutions aided by companies like Lawyered, PracticeLeague, Clio, Lawcus, ProVakil, Volody and others succored legal professionals in the management of client relationships, critical documents, cases, and much in other activities like compliance management and redefining the client relationship. 

The Legal Technology sector with companies like Legit Quest, One Delta, Spot Draft, Presolve 360, and others had introduced document and contract workflow management and process automation, analysis of regulation and case law patterns to forecast claims, e-signature e-meeting, and e-voting management. 

Lawyered, for example, is a revolutionary platform that is changing the way individuals connect with and within the legal sector. There are over 50,000 registered lawyers on the site, as well as a dedicated agile staff of in-house legal specialists. Lawyered, which works on a zero-commission model and provides 24*7 availability, access to verified legal professionals and law firms, 30 minutes of free consultation, and follow-ups and feedback throughout the process, has a strong vision of creating a world in which every citizen has access to a legal advisor. It turns the portal into a one-stop-shop for all legal counsel seekers in the country. Lawyered is revolutionizing how companies discover lawyers in one of the most important areas. Consumer demand via the internet is driving huge changes in the way we discover lawyers, courtesy to an ever-increasing population of internet users. Previously used strategies such as personal contacts or word-of-mouth are no longer viable or scalable. This is where Lawyered differentiates itself from the competition. 

Corporates are increasingly anticipating these companies and developing corporate accelerator programs to benefit their growth and initiate Mergers and Acquisitions with the same intent. In 2019, India's largest law firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, announced the launch of Prarambh, the country's first legal technology incubator. This was the first step towards boosting India's legal innovation. The fundamental goal of this project was to assist young students in obtaining practical solutions that would enable them to succeed in their legal professions. Second, to assist legal technology companies in expanding their businesses in the Indian legal sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic is in its sophomore stage. All the legal-tech companies provide rapid, effective, and trustworthy legal solutions to both legal experts and laypeople. In India, there are legal startups like Lawyered, ipleaders, ProVakil, Legal Mind, MyAdvo, Legal Kart, Mike Legal and many more that are rethinking the legal profession and business to be more efficient and organized. Technology has played a big part in the legal profession, from conducting online legal procedures to offering online legal services and advice, and it is inescapable and irrefutable. Technology has dramatically revolutionized the structure of work of the legal professions in India, thanks to the growth of legal tech entrepreneurs. Because legal tech entrepreneurs provide cost-effective and user-friendly solutions in a timely manner, the average person is more likely to contact them. The legal profession is progressing and expanding its use of technology to make the legal profession more approachable and accessible to the general population and among-selves. Digitalization has only recently begun to emerge in the legal business, but it is here to stay. Legal technology has shown to be more dependable and efficient, and if properly applied, it will give an easily accessible platform with enhanced security.