In the legal industry, innovation and technology are playing a bigger role than ever before. From document automation to virtual closing lists, technology is changing the way firms work and operate. In this interview, Karen Tuschak and Karen Anderson, both experts in the field, share their insights on the practice areas where innovation is having the greatest impact within firms right now.

• Corporate practice areas are leading the way in innovation and technology adoption
• Cloud-based technology is replacing traditional software licenses
• Transactional practice areas such as banking and finance, real estate, and litigation are also adopting technology for document automation and e-discovery
• Corporate databases can be utilized by other practice areas for increased efficiency

Karen Anderson, who specializes in corporate practice areas, says that innovation is changing everything in her field. “Clients can access their records, it’s about having cloud-based technology rather than licenses for this and that. I think we will continue to see this level of change for a few years. Everybody is in the midst of change right now in corporate groups.”

Karen Tuschak adds that any transactional practice is also starting to adopt technology for document automation and virtual closing lists. “Banking and finance are adopting document automation and virtual closing lists and checklists. It’s unbelievable when they start to wrap their minds around things that we used to do in corporations with automation. Its particularly effective where they have similar large clients, and using templates. Especially in real estate with things like condo closings, real estate transactions, anything that can be automated is changing the game.”

Watch the full interview, Innovations in Transactional Practice Areas: How Technology is Changing the Game

The use of technology in transactional practice areas such as banking and finance and real estate is allowing for increased efficiency and cost savings for clients. Karen T. also notes that litigation has been utilizing e-discovery for some time, but other transactional practice areas are also starting to adopt these tools.

Furthermore, Karen T. highlights the value of using corporate databases in other practice areas. “Banking and finance is doing things for the firm’s corporate clients. The information is already there. So just finding new ways to incorporate their documents.”

In summary, the practice areas that are seeing the most innovation right now are corporate and transactional practices such as banking and finance, real estate, and litigation. Corporate is undergoing major changes with the implementation of cloud-based technology and client access to records, while transactional practices are using document automation and virtual closing lists to streamline their processes.

Overall, it is clear that technology is playing a major role in shaping the future of these practice areas and firms that are able to embrace and leverage these new tools and processes will be well-positioned for success.