One of the more important and substantial changes that has taken place in the legal industry throughout the past decade and a half is the transition away from physical records management and toward more digital environments. Because of how inefficient and dangerous paper files have proven to be, as well as the process improvements enjoyed when going digital, corporate and other forms of law have been forever transformed by data capture and electronic content management capabilities. 

At the end of the day, this has also changed the ways in which legal firms of all kinds need to approach their business process management procedures, as the birth of electronic discovery, or eDiscovery, has been revolutionary to say the least. With the right pieces of automation software in place, the sky will be the limit for performance improvements, accuracy enhancements and speed-related gains when going through the preparations for a litigation proceeding. 

Future law
Thomas Davenport, a distinguished analytics aficionado, recently published a blog post for The Wall Street Journal to explain some of the ways in which lawyers' responsibilities are changing in the age of automation, also musing that these professionals might be threatened by the advent of more advanced software. Aside from the highly common discussion regarding the use of software to replace people, the author affirmed that lawyers are already augmenting their performances through these tools. 

This, regardless of industry or sector, has been the core theme that is somewhat indisputable, in that automation software has not truly reached a point at which no human intervention is needed, and the best way to leverage the investment is to improve the experience and performance of professionals. Davenport pointed out that attorneys who are beginning to leverage predictive coding and other analytics tools are enjoying stronger strategic creation from the outset of litigation proceedings. 

Future is bright
As a note, eDiscovery has helped to boost the efficiency and speed with which law firms and corporations can handle what was once the most laborious task involved in litigation – records management, search and evaluation. Empowered with the right tools, businesses and legal entities can expect to save a wealth of resources, time and cash compared to the old ways of searching through massive piles of physical documents for that one needle in the haystack. 

Automated document capture and content management solutions can help take any law firm to the next level of performance.