In the years leading up to 2022, software as a service (SaaS) became one of the fastest-growing market categories — with the number of legal technology companies adopting legal tech platforms reaching the thousands. Legal tech investments even broke the US$1 billion-dollar mark back in 2018.
We at ContractPodAi are pleased that the legal tech industry has grown so rapidly. Although almost every business function today depends on legal involvement and expertise to some degree, legal has been one of the last functions to adopt some form of digitization. In fact, it could be said that legal represents the last frontier for digital transformation systems.
But legal professionals and other key stakeholders can expect to see even more emphasis on legal tech platforms — particularly contract management tools — with the start of 2022. They can anticipate an increase in efficiency around purchasing, implementation and interoperability, too. Now, let’s take a look at what’s on the horizon for legal tech, in general, and ContractPodAi’s continuously evolving offering.
Road Ahead for Legal Tech Platforms
For its “2021 Legal Technology Report for In-House Counsel,” the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) surveyed responses from 250 in-house counsel and legal operations professionals in 18 countries. ACC’s November 2021 report reveals the latest technology purchasing behavior: the entire purchasing process, the business units that are involved, the factors that influence individual purchases — and the departments that intend to leverage technology in the very near future. Here are three of its key findings:
1. Legal tech platforms will no longer be viewed as a ‘nice-to-have,’ but an absolute ‘must-have’
The most striking revelation in ACC’s report is that nearly two-thirds of survey respondents report that having legal tech in-house is now a “must-have.” Efficiency is the primary benefit legal departments are looking to extract for using legal technology, with more than 50 percent of respondents saying they are somewhat too very interested in purchasing legal software in the next year. That is really not surprising given that 16 percent of respondents describe their systems and processes as ad hoc at present. That leaves plenty of opportunities for legal teams to delve into!
2. Contract management systems will continue to be seen as the “most effective technology”
Contract management is now viewed as the “most effective” technology by the majority of respondents. More than 60 percent of those who use contract management tools consider them to be the most optimal technology for the legal department (That is from a list of 14 current technologies). Simply stated, more and more departments want to leverage such legal tech platforms to improve their day-to-day contracting. In fact, 77 percent of respondents say that contracts are the main area for which they want to leverage legal tech software.
3. Purchase and implementation of legal tech can be lengthy and complex — but neither process has to be
In organizations with under $1 billion in revenue, the purchasing of legal tech platforms tends to involve two to five professionals, and the process typically lasts less than six months. In larger companies, more than five individuals are usually involved, and it can take between three to 12 months to complete most software purchases.
But the good news is that larger enterprises focused on optimizing processes will only continue to adopt and implement legal tech, with 63 percent saying they are “definitely” or at least “considering” buying new software. Their process of purchasing and implementing automation technology does not have to be lengthy or complex either — not with vendors that offer quick deployment capabilities and promise fast returns on investment (ROI).
But despite the positive trends mentioned above, the top challenge of using existing technology remains a lack of software “interoperability,” according to ACC. In other words, the biggest pain point in implementing a legal tech platform today is that software applications are not connected or unified. This means legal professionals and other key stakeholders need to familiarize themselves with a variety of interfaces — something that can be “confusing and cumbersome,” especially in the absence of proper technical support.
Consequently, many respondents — across legal roles — told ACC that they would “rather have a single comprehensive and unified software platform.”
Further Empowerment of Legal
In September 2021, ContractPodAi was pleased to announce US$115 million in Series C growth funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
On the strength of ContractPodAi’s end-to-end contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution — and with the support of existing investors and the global team of AI innovators behind Softbank Vision Fund 2 — ContractPodAi Cloud now supports additional departments, companies, and industries. Our no-code platform’s pre-built and configurable applications help them manage claims, RFP reviews, IP portfolios, and much more. They offer straightforward, guided forms, and templates used to create a legal app from scratch in mere minutes. On top of that, ContractPodAi Cloud embeds a toolkit of AI functionality, like document review, cognitive search, and advanced analytics.
Just imagine one legal platform — with the right technology infrastructure — supporting teams in their everyday functions. In-house counsel can handle any legal document, process, or scenario — from buy- and sell-side contracting to compliance requirements and corporate governance. And with ContractPodAi’s versatile offering, no-risk digital transformation delivery, and expert legal transformation team, they can maximize legal tech investments further.
We are especially proud to be the only CLM vendor that offers this unified legal platform. And to think we have only ‘scratched the surface’ of what we can achieve together with in-house legal and other teams. So, this upcoming year promises to be more exciting and transformative for companies employing our legal tech solution!
Do you want to learn more about our One Legal Platform? Do you want to find out how our experience and expertise see you through to digital transformation success? Contact ContractPodAi today and request one of our demos.
Author:
Sarvarth Misra
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