In today’s digital world, technology is more integrated into our lives than ever before. We use it for almost everything we do daily, from working to studying, communicating, getting entertainment, working out, and many others. Getting quick access to legal services is also something people these days use technology for.
Technological advancements have found their way into the legal sphere over the past few years. Legal professionals and law firms are adopting all sorts of technologies to improve their clients’ experiences. For example, they use machine learning and AI technology in the form of chatbots to improve customer support. They also rely on SEO practices to get exposure among potential clients in their areas of practice. Besides that, legal experts also take advantage of technology and the Internet to make proper research for the cases they are building.
Now, it’s clear that technology helps legal experts to do their job better and provide improved experiences to clients. But, can it also benefit people who need legal services? We believe it can.
This article explores the ways the Internet is making legal services more accessible to everybody.
Legal support is a few clicks away
The most obvious way the Internet makes legal services more accessible is that it allows people to find legal professionals within a few seconds.
Back in the days before the Internet was so mainstream, people had to turn to all their peers for recommendations for legal experts who specialized in their cases. This could take days or even weeks to find the right legal pro to work with for your case.
Today, with search engines at our fingerprints, looking for a lawyer and finding the right one is a lot easier and faster. All you have to do is to run a Google search for legal services in your area, and you’ll be provided with a list of names of legal experts to choose from.
What’s more, the Internet doesn’t just offer clients in need of legal services a list of names. Users can also see a lot of information about the legal experts in their area, which makes it a lot easier for them to make a decision. More precisely, when researching lawyers, internet users can find:
- Reviews from other clients
- The areas the legal experts specialize in
- The law firm they work for
- The location of their office.
Technology and the Internet helps with self-diagnosis
The internet and tech tools don’t just give people access to legal services more easily. They also tell internet users whether or not they need legal support for their problem.
More precisely, the Internet is an endless source of information, allowing people to research and understand their cases. Back in the day, a lawyer’s opinion was the only reliable way to determine a legal issue average people did not have access to legal information themselves. However, these days, people can easily find whatever legal data they need to understand if their issue is a legal problem, their rights, and their obligations.
For example, people might not even be aware of the fact that they can sue another party and get compensation for their accidents. As the experts from MedicalNegligenceLaw explain, “Medical malpractice can be difficult to determine by the victim who lacks medical knowledge. However, reading online about people with similar cases can help them determine if they were a victim of medical negligence and they are entitled to ask for compensation.”
The Internet improves lawyer-client communication
Technological advancements like the Internet make legal services more accessible for one more reason: it helps improve communication.
Before digital communication tools, people had to go to a lawyer’s office to share their cases and maintain lawyer-client communication and collaboration. Today, the story is a lot more different.
From the initial phase of the relationship, clients can get in touch with legal experts through their websites using technologies like chatbots for quick and efficient customer support. Besides that, lawyers and their clients have plenty of communication tools available to maintain collaboration, even remotely. There are plenty of ways to communicate more easily and efficiently, from email to social media networks.
Online legal services cost less
Sure, everybody might need some sort of legal service at some point in their lives. But can everybody afford them? This is where online legal services prove to be useful and make the legal sector more accessible for everybody.
As it is with most online services these days, online legal support costs less than in-person services. One reason is that legal experts also pay less to provide their support, which automatically translates into cheaper fees. For example, legal experts who offer online support can do so from anywhere they like, including their homes. This reduces their costs as they no longer have to rent and design an actual office to meet clients in person.
The bottom line is that reduced costs for legal experts also mean reduced legal services fees for clients.
Technology also allows customers to find the right legal services they can afford more easily. More precisely, internet users can do their research online and see the fees of all legal experts in their areas, and this empowers them to reach out to the lawyer they can afford.
The Internet helps lawyers help their customers
The Internet is a reliable source of information for legal experts these days. They use it to research similar cases to theirs, find relevant details to win their cases, connect with experts, and so on. But, while this may seem like the only ones who benefit from this are lawyers, their clients benefit from it as well.
For example, when a lawyer deals with a complex case, maybe a unique one, they might find it challenging to help their clients. However, the Internet can help them get around all this new information and find a solution to help their clients win their cases instead of turning them down.
