Changes in the field of law
Changes in the field of law
The field of law has experienced a tremendous change over the past decades which has prompted lawyers, paralegals, legal secretaries and other legal professionals to become more efficient and streamlined their practices with activities which were unimaginable a century ago. Today, technological advancements in the field of law have immensely revolutionized the legal environment ranging from the aspect of corporations and law firms courtrooms themselves. Apart from technical advancements, another significant change in the law firm has been the growth in the size of law firms, and the changing demographics in the legal profession. As the environment faces numerous change with the increases in innovations, the field of law has not lagged behind and has tried as much as possible to adopt the changes and through acceptance, implementation, and diffusion of these changes.
First and foremost, it is impossible to ignore the great effect technology has brought in everyday activities, and the law is not an exclusion. Technology has caused automation of legal practices prompted legal professionals to have precise knowledge of the database management, telecommunication, legal software and the whole field of information technology. In Law firms today electronic billing systems have been adopted which are fast and convenient and have replaced the paper invoice as a payment system. Furthermore, the creation of websites and legal blogs has made information easily available to interested individuals. Moreover, firms have adopted database system which stores tremendous amount of data that aids in electronic case management.
Also, courtrooms have embraced electronic filing of documents as well as well as using a web-based database system which helps counsels and other parties involved in cases to access the documents wherever they are. Technology has transformed legal profession through the use of legal databases to perform researches in the field of law as well as employment of video conferencing in communication that has made it convenient for them to discuss important issues without distance restrictions. Electronic database discovery has revolutionized the way legal professionals manage a large amount of electronic evidence as well as prompted emergence litigation support profession a different career.
Secondly, law field has experienced enormous growth in the number of lawyers, firms as well as the expansions in the size of law firms through opening of branches in different areas. The growth has led to competition among law firms intense and as a result, made the services of a lawyer readily available and somehow cheaper. Nowadays, the law field is seen as a way to make money, and this is a business perspective which has seen law forms today make a lump sum amounts of money annually. In the past, the law field was seen as a profession as much as there was a business perspective involved but many ventured into this area with a goal of practicing a job they loved. Moreover, ii present-day law field, there is an aspect of specialization whereby lawyers and other legal practitioners specialize in a particular field. Specialty is a change from the past where a single lawyer engaged in multiple practices rather sticking to a unique practice.
There has been a tremendous change in the field of law by analyzing the demographic factors. In the past, the law firms where majorly composed of the white or any other privileged group. Also, women were marginalized, and their number was limited in the law field. However, through women empowerment and growth in human rights, the legal field has seen the integration of diverse cultures and growth in the number of women lawyers.
Research Plan
The study in the law field which identifies the specific changes that have taken place over the decades can be studied and analyzed to the support and strengthen this draft. Furthermore, for a proper research on the topic, I have to be informed with the current situation in the field of law as well as the environmental factors which affect this field. Information communication innovations and computer science are relevant topics which significantly affect the law firms, and hence this will prompt a comprehensive knowledge in these two to fully support my ideas and strengthen my draft.