A number of legal commentators and practitioners have described a definitive shift in the legal industry. Specifically, how legal technology and innovation is paving the way for a new age of law. And more importantly, how a shift from a lawyer-centred framework to a customer-centric marketplace is a result of changes in how clients want to “buy” the law.
This shift signals a new way of doing law, a new approach that is now termed NewLaw or Alternative Legal Services. The first element in the shifting legal landscape is the disruptive nature of legal technology and innovation. During the recent Innovation and Tech Fest, participants in the South African alternative legal services sphere described how legal tech has, for many years been considered both a threat and an enhancement to the legal profession.