Law firms falling behind on technology and client expectations, says PwC report

PwC says top UK law firms need to boost investment in emerging technologies

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The UK’s top law firms are not keeping pace with cutting-edge technologies and growing client expectations, according to a new report by PwC.

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<a href="http://www.almcms.com/contrib

    /uploads/sites/378/2016/09/pwc-logo-web-Article-201609130532.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-56651" src="http://www.almcms.com/contrib

      /uploads/sites/378/2016/09/pwc-logo-web-Article-201609130532.jpg" alt="" width="616" height="372" /></a> The UK's top law firms are not keeping pace with cutting-edge technologies and growing client expectations, according to a new report by��<a href="https://www.pwc.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.pwc.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG1sKTVYH8nLRQ2qieHRjbfxAYm2A">PwC.</a> In a survey of more than half of the UK���s 100 largest law firms by revenue, PwC found that 70% have invested in client collaboration tools and about 40% use��<a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202793957290/Fieldfisher-SeedLegals-Investment-Reflects-New-Attorney-Imperative-to-Adopt-Technology?mcode=1202617074729&amp;curindex=1&amp;curpage=ALL" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id%3D1202793957290/Fieldfisher-SeedLegals-Investment-Reflects-New-Attorney-Imperative-to-Adopt-Technology?mcode%3D1202617074729%26curindex%3D1%26curpage%3DALL&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFX7N4y8qGmaNziMZRDkPC-vFdZ6g">automated document production software</a>. Just 11% of firms surveyed by PwC utilise��<a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/home/id=1202785059785/3-Ways-Big-Data-Will-Change-the-Lawyers-Role?mcode=1202617075486&amp;curindex=0" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.americanlawyer.com/home/id%3D1202785059785/3-Ways-Big-Data-Will-Change-the-Lawyers-Role?mcode%3D1202617075486%26curindex%3D0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGYw4wt8BD7TXui0q520FR87FdBpg">big data</a>��and��<a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202785179542/Prescriptive-Modelling-The-Future-of-Data-Analytics?mcode=1202617074729&amp;curindex=3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id%3D1202785179542/Prescriptive-Modelling-The-Future-of-Data-Analytics?mcode%3D1202617074729%26curindex%3D3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGN8AB8GyU8CXyvCcxPM33KFQgIxw">predictive analytics</a>, however, while more sophisticated technologies such as��<a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202784035510/Smart-Contracts-Demand-Sharper-Tech-Skills-From-Lawyers-Experts-Say&amp;curindex=5" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id%3D1202784035510/Smart-Contracts-Demand-Sharper-Tech-Skills-From-Lawyers-Experts-Say%26curindex%3D5&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFQDqc2pCZtWYp53trFyh9vzJKNuA">smart contracts</a>��and��<a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202794840195/Dont-Know-What-Blockchain-Is-You-Should-This-Law-Prof-Can-Help&amp;curindex=9" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id%3D1202794840195/Dont-Know-What-Blockchain-Is-You-Should-This-Law-Prof-Can-Help%26curindex%3D9&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGjCpgKvvHB62caHzAm60TKG3Anbg">blockchain</a> ��� a tool that allows information to be shared and updated across a network ��� are ���barely featuring���. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-snell-00a55518/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-snell-00a55518/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFspG0bbciFVB-RuLPRDiLtVLSP1A">David Snell</a>, who heads PwC���s��<a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/law-firms.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.pwc.com/us/en/law-firms.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146080000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEcqPN3vlAQmUO7dHI1nRb8JKxffg">law firm advisory group</a>, said firms need to take ���fundamental action��� to improve areas such as client service delivery, business support and recruitment in an increasingly competitive market. ���Firms need to be more agile in embracing emerging technologies, which will ultimately help them achieve more effective staffing levels and react faster to changing client demands,��� he said. ���This will require significant investment and firms need to think carefully as to how this will be funded.��� The report also said firms must tackle workplace management issues in order to ���rebalance��� performance and profitability, which has become squeezed by rising staff costs and��<a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202798448937" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id%3D1202798448937&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEY_AkT4e9anc88840Qu74St6NsvQ">flattening demand for legal services</a>. PwC has in recent years invested heavily in its own legal services arm,��which now employs more than 3,200��lawyers across 90 countries. <em>Legal Week</em> sister title <em>The American Lawyer</em> last month revealed that��<a href="http://www.americanlawyer.com/id=1202798366190/PwC-to-Launch-US-Law-Firm-as-Big-Four-Expand-Legal-Offerings" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://www.americanlawyer.com/id%3D1202798366190/PwC-to-Launch-US-Law-Firm-as-Big-Four-Expand-Legal-Offerings&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507994146081000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEV-2-N69uK7g7twpTTH7v-SfIjlw">PwC is launching a US law firm</a>. The firm, ILC Legal,��is��based in Washington DC and is structured as a separate legal entity from the rest of PwC and its legal services arm. Its key service��offerings��include��entity governance and compliance, international reorganisations, employment, immigration, M&amp;A, financial services, tax disputes, cybersecurity and data protection. <

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