How technology is transforming the legal profession

12 November 2022

Technology has brought huge improvements to the legal profession. Some of the ways in which technology has influenced and continues to influence the legal profession are listed below.

Facilitates Communication

Communication refers to the discourse or transformation of data within individuals or institutions. In recent years, there have been diverse mediums of communication in the legal profession, such as phone calls, virtual meetings, web site consultations, text messages, and so on. This is a result of the advancement of technology. Nowadays, clients do not need to knock from one law firm to another to get themselves legal advisers or representatives, all they need to do is type the relevant words or phrases into their computers in order to see a list of legal practitioners and their areas of specialization. This has created a platform wherein the legal practitioners can effectively interact with their clients from different geographical locations, providing legal advice from anywhere in the world through virtual communication, and whereby clients can make online payments for the services offered to them by their lawyers. It is undeniable that technology has eased communication in the legal profession.

Technology has brought huge improvements to the legal profession. Some of the ways in which technology has influenced and continues to influence the legal profession are listed below.

Enhances research

Research refers to the diligent consultation of written documents, examination of the situation, facts, theories, principles, application, and others in trying to solve a legal problem. The rise of technology has made it easier to create briefs. In this era of technology, legal practitioners do not need to overflow their law firms with books and other materials for research purposes. The only thing legal practitioners require are computers, laptops, or other devices with internet access, which will allow them to read any book or document online. Aside from that, they can also type any clause or phrase in their search engine, and books, publications, and articles will be readily available for them within seconds. Another aspect that technology has helped to enhance is the fact that judges no longer have to go through voluminous books or files in order to adopt a precedent; instead, all they have to do is go to the computer disk and type in ‘quick search’ and any case they wish to reference will appear right away. Jurists can also easily access materials related to their proposed dissertation for effective criticism or support of theories.

Increases transparency

Technology increases transparency as any transaction done with your phone can be restored and used in hearings. Also, the availability of micro-recording devices has played an important role in carving out misconduct in the legal profession. For example, an authenticated recording capturing any mischievous act of a judge can be used as sufficient evidence to justify his or her dismissal for misconduct. As judgments rendered by judges are made available on the internet, judges are always careful in delivering their judgments by ensuring that there is no form of partiality in their rulings. Because of technology, journalists can now use platforms such as web pages, social media, and a variety of other spaces to help ensure justice in courts. Due to this reason, judges are always conscious in cases with public interest and media influence simply because they know that any impression of a biased judgment can be used to taint them as being unfair and partial judges.

Collaborative and accessible

Technology has created a platform for interaction and a common code of conduct in the legal sectors all around the world, which has helped uphold the principle of the rule of law. In cases where there is no suitable binding precedent, the court tends to use persuasive precedent, which ensures oneness in the dispensation of justice. This is a result of the advancement of technology. Judges and legal practitioners can now easily access any decided case within seconds. Technology also aids them in distinguishing cases during the adaptation of precedent, and this practice of adopting precedent ensures unity in the courts’ decisions. Another key advantage to this is that it unifies countries’ jurisprudence, clearly because almost all countries’ ground norms are available on the internet, and this gives the jurist the access to consult them any time they are drafting a new law. One vivid example of this is the constitutions of the Republic of The Gambia and Ghana, which are quite similar to each other, as well as the constitution of India, which is in some ways similar to the constitution of the United States.

Improves record keeping

Record keeping refers to the process of maintaining the history of events and transactions. The advent of technology has an impressive benefit for documentation. Before the advent of technology, secretaries spent a whole lot of their time in office records, law libraries, and court archives doing research on relevant information needed for their case. Recently, however, as a result of the advancement in technology, all the legal proceedings in court can be kept on a computer or in Google Drive. In this case, the files can only be assessed by an authorized person due to the fact that the information is end-to-end encrypted. Thus, the information is safe and secure. This also means that there is no need to carry files from department to department; all you have to do is share the file or document via email. In addition, judges can easily keep track of their proceedings on their computers or Google Drives, and they can easily have access to them at any time they wish. Files saved with technology are not torn or worn out unless the person who saved them chooses to delete them. In the case of Nkrumah v. Republic [2017], there was an allegation that the court proceedings files were missing from the Office of the Registrar. In this case, technology played a great and important role in recovering the missing files, as the files were saved on a Google Drive, which made the recovery easy.

Expedites the court process

Technology has a great influence on court proceedings, as it has an influence on both civil and criminal proceedings. In cases that concern a breach of contract, technology may play a vital role in aiding the courts. In an instance where the contract was made orally and one of the parties used a device to record their conversation when the contract was being made, the court can use the recording to facilitate the proceedings, especially if either of the parties is making claims contradicting the original contract. Technology has also helped with respect to criminal law, most especially in cases involving murder, rape, theft, and others. In criminal cases, the prosecutor is obliged to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, so in rape cases, where it is nearly impossible to have a witness testify, technology has always been the order of the day. For example, in a recently decided case in The Gambia, which is the case of Bob Kieta v. The State, where the defendant was charged with rape. The court, after countless hearings, requested a DNA test to prove substantial proof. The court’s Ratio Decidendi was based on the DNA test result. And the defendant was successfully vindicated with the aid of technology. Another area of criminal law where technology has greatly influenced is in an instance where a person is charged with murder, and in most cases like this, technology has always aided in obtaining evidence.

Conclusion

Technology has made the work of legal practitioners effective, efficient, and, most importantly, less time-consuming. It is unquestionable that technology is changing the world, and the legal profession is no exception to this change.