If we asked you to picture a lawyer, an immediate and distinctive image most likely comes to mind. Older, grey haired, slightly overweight with good shoes and a crisp suit. Don’t forget those beady eyes, staring into your soul and ready to suck you dry for every penny you have. Wait…errr…we meant an intelligent gaze. If you’re not a fan of lawyers, or the legal profession, you aren’t in bad company.

For many, one of the primary reasons people cite for disliking their local barrister is that inability to modernize, whether it be in billing practices or approaches to common legal issues. So when it comes to the legal profession, its little surprise that innovation is one of the last words we’d use to describe the field. Until now that is. A recent major news article cites a host of legal startups that are rethinking the way we think about law and lawyers. Let’s break down a few of our favorites.

Lex Machina

A new app based on the recent trends in web crawling software, Lex Machine aims to put a formula to finding the right legal precedent. This company aims to offer what it calls “moneyball lawyering” to help identify trends in legal precedent that can be used to a law firm’s advantage for future clients. Big time parent LexisNexis is a reliable name in legal research and services which makes this new endeavor even more exciting.

Legalist

Litigation financing is here to stay. After a host of recent court cases that finally appear to have judges embracing the legality of this modern trend in lawsuits, it seems only natural that big time litigation financing firms would start coming out in force. Legalist, based out of startup nirvana Silicon Valley, is offering commercial litigation financing to reach more potential plaintiffs. Simply plug your figures into their predictive software and Legalist uses the criteria to determine your likelihood of winning which translates to their willingness to fund your case.

Clause

It seems as if nowadays if you have a project there is a management software solution specifically designed for your needs. The latest comer to this emerging field is Clause, a software that manages and monitors various contracts. Oh, it also sends you alerts and notifications when key clauses have been broken. Why send a lawyer to do what a machine can?

DoNotPay

We hate parking tickets. You hate parking tickets. We all hate parking tickets. Good thing there’s a new chatbot to help you fight that pesky slip of paper issued by the over zealous meter maid during your last power lunch session. Simply answer the questions and prompts from this intelligent and interactive interface and you’ll be fighting off that pesky fine in no time.

Closing Thoughts

While we all like to give lawyers, and the legal profession general, a decently hard time, truth of the matter is that no piece of machinery can ever replace the quality advice of an experienced legal representative. When used correctly, though, technology can help lawyers cut costs and provide better services to their clients. Like most things, when man meets machine in perfect cyber harmony, society reaps the rewards in having the best of both worlds.