GlobalX Head of Operations and Customer Experience Murray Walter discusses the importance of adopting new technologies.
Every day new technologies are created to keep people connected, provide innovative solutions and increase the speed and efficiency of business.
For example, if you need to hire an employee, you can advertise online to find the perfect candidate; if you need to buy something, you can order it with the click of a button; and if you need to pay for a service, you can use secure online platforms like PayPal.
Nowadays, automation is everywhere you look, but some sectors are more change-adverse than others; the legal sector being one of them.
If you need to find a lawyer, you turn to referrals from friends, ads in the yellow pages, a phone number you saw on a bus, or spend an afternoon calling, and meeting with, different firms.
When you need to appear in court for something as simple as a speeding fine, you have to attend in person. And, when you pay your lawyer for their time, you usually have to write a check and send it via mail.
My point, is that just because the foundation of the legal system is slow, reactionary and requires human involvement, it doesn’t mean the rest of the legal system has to follow suit – especially when it comes to property conveyancing and practice management software.
Software like PEXA , OzConveyancers and Matter Centre significantly reduce the time, number of people and paperwork required in the conveyancing process; enabling lawyers, conveyancers and financial institutions to transact together online. Not only does this significantly reduce the risk of errors and delays, it gives certainty of a successful, on-time settlement.
While this technology may cause some to worry about the security of their jobs, I’m of the firm belief that automation will not remove jobs, but merely change them, allowing employees to spend more time on interpersonal, creative and information-based work, as opposed to administrative and manual tasks.
This doesn’t mean that there isn’t still a place for face-to-face communication.
Given the nature of our business, we often need to answer complex questions which cannot be communicated as easily online. For the easier questions, we’re certainly finding an increasing preference for online communication – whether that be by email, web chat, or watching explainer-style videos on YouTube.
This goes to show that law, as an industry, is ripe for disruption.
If Australian companies want to remain competitive globally, then it’s time more businesses embraced automated technology and take a leap of faith.
I’m proud to work for a company that is disrupting the legal sector by introducing software and services that deliver newer, smarter ways of working.
Watch this space!
About the Author:
Murray Walter is the Head of Operations and Customer Experience at GlobalX.