Solicitors view technology as good for business but cyber security a key issue

Almost half of survey respondents, at 42 per cent, believed that maintaining cyber security was a challenge.

Despite this, the overwhelming majority at 81 per cent had a very or fairly positive view of technology, with solicitors recognising the importance of using technology to improve processes and increase efficiency. In addition, 78 per cent agreed that technology is creating ideas for innovation and new business models for law firms and 73 per cent said technology supports the way clients commission work. Around a third (34 per cent) agreed that use of artificial intelligence systems was reducing costs within the sector.

The survey, carried out by Ipsos Mori, showed that 92 per cent of solicitors used the internet on a daily basis for business, with 59 per cent also using their smartphones to access the internet for business purposes.

Around a third of respondents (32 per cent) said that keeping up with developments could be difficult and significant numbers believed they would benefit from training in areas including data protection (35 per cent) and cyber security (34 per cent).

The Law Society’s technology audit report was launched at the Law Society’s Technology and Cybercrime Conference in Glasgow today.

Helena Brown, partner and head of intellectual property, commercial and data at HBJ Gateley and a member of the Law Society’s technology law and practice committee said: “This is the first survey the Law Society has carried out about solicitors’ views on and use of technology.

“The findings highlight the positive view most have of increased use of technology and how it can benefit their businesses and the wider justice system, but also draw attention to some of the issues the profession faces in terms of keeping up to date with developments and how to ensure that their data is safe.

“The findings also highlight areas that we will want to explore further. The vast majority of respondents took steps to protect themselves online, such as not clicking on suspect links and using passport protection on their devices, however 35 per cent of those who had experienced a cyber-security issue did not report it to anyone. It may be that some of this relates to scam emails from fraudsters which most of us would simply delete, but it perhaps indicates there is an issue in what and how cyber security issues should be dealt with.”

Click here to download a copy of the technology audit report.