“I know this comes as a bruise to the ego of many lawyers,” said Mr McDougall, “but a lot of the practice of law is repetition — doing the same thing again and again — and unfortunately, computers do repetition way better than human beings”.

“Whether the legal profession likes it or not, the push for efficiency and the push for added value means the introduction of legal technology is inevitable,” he posited.

“The important thing about how legal technology will influence the legal profession is that if you fight it, you’re going to lose.

“You can’t compete with it in repeatable kind of work,” he submitted. “The computer doesn’t require days off. It doesn’t require a pay rise. It will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, doing the same thing over and over again without error. Humans can’t compete with that. 

“The realisation has to be, ‘I have to find a way of incorporating this technology into my practice in such a way that it enables me to get more value out of my practice’.”

Adopting tech doesn’t mean replacing lawyers, he clarified, “the technology to replace lawyers has been around for 500 years. It’s called a book.”

“Technology doesn’t replace lawyers, but it changes the way lawyers do what they do. The technology, including artificial intelligence, being developed is to enhance what a lawyer does, not replace them. I don’t think that will ever happen,” he mused.

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“The legal profession will continue to evolve and change, and how you practise in the legal profession will continue to evolve and change.

“Firms should be doing this because they’re going to become more efficient, effective, and productive, and therefore better off.

“They should incorporate it, adopt it, enhance it, and use it to the maximum benefit that they can. It will push lawyers up the value chain,” he stated. “It should give them the opportunity to start focusing again on some of these bigger issues.”

There is resistance to adopting these technologies because the legal profession is very conservative by nature, Mr McDougall said.

“We’re trained to look backwards,” he said, “so changing that mindset to embrace a future of technology can be difficult”.

As the next generation takes over decision-making positions, technology adoption will likely be fast-tracked, he speculated. 

“We are now experiencing, for the first time, a generation in the legal profession who have grown up with technology as a fifth limb.

“As that generation gets into more and more positions of influence, the pace of change is going to start increasing as well,” he added.