Sponsored briefing: Q&A with Jon Bartman, head of Jameson Legal Tech

What have been the most important developments in the legal tech space over the last year?

Automation is everywhere and automation is the key word this year. This doesn’t just mean large language models, although they are important, but automation can come in many different guises. Let’s deal with the elephant in the room. GPT4 is most definitely a game changer, but the next 12 months will prove how much of a change it will bring. Finding solutions that work with the way that lawyers and the infrastructure work is crucial. Data integrity is also paramount, and of course understanding how data is stored and used is also going to play an important role.

Has legal tech got to the point of maturity in terms of how it is viewed and used in law firms or is there still a way to go?

I really believe that this year is going to see some existing legal tech solutions hitting the end of their life cycle. There is a lot of tech that sits in a law firm that simply isn’t being used. New solutions have come to replace historic old tech that isn’t fit for purpose, and increasingly we are seeing law firms running tech audits to find that many tools have zero usage. Legal tech is only good if it is being used and adopted. It has to be easy to implement and easy to use and that’s the only magic formula.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges and the biggest opportunities?

The biggest challenge will always be adoption. Law firms and in-house teams have such a hard job in adopting new tech. Lawyers are risk averse in general; they are taught to look at every avenue before making a decision. This can lead to a very drawn out and long decision-making process. Getting lawyers to then spend a little time looking at solutions is also hard, even though it will save them time, effort and energy in the long run.

How does your offering set you apart from competitors? What do you do differently?

We offer a very impartial view on all legal tech solutions. We sit in the middle of the process so we create a safe environment. No overly aggressive sales people and countless emails, understanding what works and what might work going forward is the key to Jameson Legal Tech. We spend time with all law firm and in-house teams to understand that everyone works slightly different and there are solutions for everyone.