Disruptions in the legal industry include innovative legal technology that transforms the legal landscape – for the better. Legal tech, including contract lifecycle management (CLM), AI-powered software, and dashboards provide value for money, while helping legal departments stay efficient. Why, then, aren’t legal departments adopting legal tech in droves? The answer comes down to the role of social proof in legal tech.
A Forbes article reports that legal departments operate almost the same way they did decades ago. The way forward for legal departments is to embrace and adopt change, especially when it is beneficial change, such as legal tech. Lawyers rely on tried and tested tools that other lawyers have used and recommended, but the legal field is one of the few fields that is slow to adopt technology.
What is Social Proof?
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation. An Artificial Lawyer notes that social proof can include conformist behavior in a group, following the actions of “experts” or celebrities, or obedience to perceived social norms. Social proof is often used in marketing and advertising to influence consumer behavior.
Legal departments look to peers in their industry for tried and tested tools that can enhance processes. If peers haven’t adopted legal tech, legal departments will be hesitant about adopting legal tech. These legal departments can’t be blamed either, because legal encompasses sensitive legal data, client confidentiality and other data points that need to be safe at all times. One wrong move, in unsecured tech, and countless parties and their confidential data will be at risk.
How Social Proof Works in Legal Tech
In legal tech, social proof covers tangible resources that legal departments can review to understand more about the effectiveness of software and tools. Social proof for legal tech includes data, metrics, and customer feedback, which prove the value of legal technology products and services.
A few examples of these social proofs include peer ratings and reviews, case studies, and testimonials. These showcase how legal tech help those legal departments improve their workflows, increase efficiency, and enhance the quality of their legal services. By providing social proof, legal technology providers can demonstrate the value of their products to potential customers and build trust with the legal community.
The Future of Social Proof in Legal Tech
With more legal departments choosing to adopt legal tech for the substantial cost-savings, reducing bottlenecks in processes, and streamlining workflows, there is more social proof content available. Legal departments who are on the fence about legal tech can go through content that their peers have shared, to learn more about legal tech and the host of benefits it can offer them and their organizations. Legal tech isn’t just a legal solution, but a holistic business solution as well.
