Lisa Fitzgerald, partner at Lander & Rogers specialising in technology, media, telecommunications, IP, data and privacy, drew on her experience running large-scale automation projects whilst speaking at the Chilli IQ 2022 Lawtech Summit last week.

Lander & Rogers advises clients from start-ups to M&A and capital raising international expansion, as well as operationalising business and strong contractual and regulatory perspectives, encompassing finance, financial services, privacy, consumer and IP law.

In her role, Ms Fitzgerald gets to see “firsthand the transformative impact of technology across all sectors”.

“While the legal profession may be one of the oldest professions in the world, it needs to be a frontier profession to support the massive paradigm shift the world is currently undergoing globally,” she said.

“With the rise of virtual reality, augmented reality, economy-wide gamification, and the metaverse, a new breed of lawyer and law as a service is essential.”

In terms of what an automation specialist lawyer actually is, Ms Fitzgerald said they have to have two key characteristics: an experienced lawyer with deep industry knowledge, and the know-how and ability to apply this specific expertise to “automate documents, streamline processes, and develop workflows using automation software”.

“The skill set is quite similar to those of precedent lawyers, both involved in thinking about variables and applying logic when those variables are triggered. The difference is that an automation specialist lawyer also has coding expertise.

“Automation technology is shifting and becoming more user-friendly. We’re moving to no-code and low-code automation platforms that are continually maturing and expanding into the mega markets. This is not to say that technology is unsophisticated, as there’s still a lot of learning to do to carry out sophisticated automation work. And that’s why you need aptitude and interest in the area to operate in the space. So, while the shift in the automation landscape has lowered the barrier to entry, there continues to be a considerable learning curve in order to produce effective outcomes,” she continued.

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“The automation space appeals to lawyers, particularly because we see ourselves first and foremost as problem solvers. And automation technology provides the tools to tackle complex problems and solve them in a way that simplifies the user being the client. While the logic sitting behind might remain complex, provided we as lawyers have understood the problem well enough ourselves. We can translate that complexity into a simple user interface. In the traditional legal world, we seek to protect our clients against legal risk, helping close their deals or settle disputes. And this brings clients satisfaction, as well as repeat business for lawyers, which is what is the name of the game for private practitioners.”

Although becoming an expert in this space takes a lot of time, energy and experience, overcoming these challenges results in a stronger knowledge of different client systems – and a stronger relationship with clients, added Ms Fitzgerald.

“Not only can automation specialists always understand the client’s legal challenges, but they can apply this deep legal expertise to streamline and improve client’s business processes. And this is the key difference between an automation specialist lawyer and non-lawyer automation and automation specialist. If you have a standalone non-lawyer automation specialist working with the client, that will be considerable time going back and forth to work through issues with the client,” she said.

“And to gain an understanding of the client to build an adequate solution not only takes more time, it also leaves much more room for error. Whereas if you have someone with expertise in that area already, you can shortcut the process. It’s a very powerful combination, both in terms of reducing the build time and building trust and strengthening the relationship with the client.

“So, the future, in my own personal opinion, is that it won’t be one where lawyers will be redundant. But instead, it will be one where digital lawyers who speak, write and code become indispensable to good business, and for helping their clients compete in the global economy.”

Lauren Croft

Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.