Lawyer Monthly Magazine - March 2020 Edition

• Online negotiation also has advantages in reducing conflict, as you don’t have to be physically together when you access the service (but you can choose to be if you prefer). With emotions and not the assets that complicate a case, HNWI also rely on the service as amicable happily refers their clients to specialists for information or neutral advice in the case of complicated Trusts or offshore assets as part of their process too. Clearly, the object at hand here is trying to simplify an often heated and complex process. Whether it is finding an ‘amicable’ way to resolve conflict or lessening fees, client’s demands are changing. We cannot predict where technology will take us, but what we can say is that more and more people are now looking for an easier way to interact with their lawyers. From having instantaneous conversations and being able to maintain that connection whilst on the other side of the globe, the internet and technology will have a big part to play in the legal sphere. Law firms and lawyers alike should look for ways to constantly update their working lives, in order to meet such demands. LM 1 https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/ online-lawyer-marketplace-upcounsel-to-shut- down?context=search&index=1 2 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/lawyers.htm 3 https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/business-services/ law-firms/survey.html 4 https://www.legalservicesboard.org.uk/what_we_do/ Research/Publications/pdf/understanding_consumer_ needs_from_legal_information_sources_final_report.pdf “At the end of the process all that was left was a huge conflict and a financial settlement neither of us was happy with.” A twist on the traditional approach to law, amicable aims to eliminate the adversarial approach in divorce and separation and provide an end to end divorce service. Are they replacing the need for lawyers in divorce? “There’s no need to seek separate legal counsel unless there are danger signs. amicable uses a combination of technology, para-legal staff and non-practising solicitors to draft all divorce and financial paperwork. Customers remain Litigant in Person and sign and submit all their documents to the court themselves”, explains Kate. Making a complex system simpler and friendlier seems to bode well for amicable, leading us to question if lawyers need to address this in order to make the current, traditional system easier for those undergoing divorce. Although, nearly 8% of the UK population do not access online services, so clearly there is a small proportion of people that online services will not reach. However, as a digital service there are significant benefits that outweigh this such as, as Kate explains: • Reduced costs (technology does what lots of legal firms still charge expensive professional fees to do) • The ability to access the service from the comfort of your own home and not having to take time off work to come and arrange meetings Although, nearly 8% of the UK population do not access online services, so clearly there is a small proportion of people that online services will not reach.