TAILOR-MADE LEGAL AUTOMATION: HOW NO-CODE TECHNOLOGY IS RESHAPING WHAT’S POSSIBLE
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No-code platforms - and a ‘custom’ approach to automation - are being adopted by law firms and legal teams worldwide due to the control and flexibility they offer. The practice involves using a drag-and-drop visual environment to build solutions without coding, enabling organizations to build tools for their exact needs.
But with a healthy selection of legaltech ‘point solutions’ - i.e. tools that do a specific thing - on the market, why is the no-code approach making such significant headway?
The problems faced by law firms and legal teams
We first need to drill into the reason why technology is being used in the legal space more generally. Across the board, lawyers are dealing with the demand for ‘more for less, and faster’. Clients expect more from law firms, and corporate legal teams are continuously strained by requests, and balancing between tedious and higher value work. The very nature of a lawyer’s work - involving drafting, approvals, endless emails, document version tracking, and much more - can be menial and process heavy. This work typically comes at the expense of true ‘lawyering’.
Automation offers to take things off the plate of lawyers, allowing them to spend more time on work that actually leverages their wisdom and knowledge. But often, ‘point solutions’ don’t go far enough in saving time, ROI falls short, and you can end up in the trap of replacing old manual processes with new manual processes.
Enter no-code
Rather than trying to fit a rigid digital tool into your processes, no-code allows you to automate how you need to automate. Each process is unique, and workflows often differ from one organization to another. A tailored approach to automation, then, allows you to deploy solutions that go 100% of the way rather than 60% or 70%. Better still, integration with necessary point solutions (like e-signature, document management systems, etc.) helps build out end-to-end automated processes, and delivers even more value from previous tech investments.
What can I achieve in a no-code platform?
Think bespoke contract workflows, data transfer compliance, AML risk assessments, legal intake portals, matter onboarding, contract risk assessment, redlining and approval processes with automated versioning - and a whole lot more. All designed for your needs and requirements.
The tech shopping list above would quickly prompt your finance team to respond with ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’. Well, some no-code platforms, Neota included, offer subscriptions with unlimited solutions. Have another idea for a tool? No RFPs necessary. Just drag, drop, and you’re away. It’s for this very reason that a no-code platform can be a catalyst for sustainable and iterative digital transformation.
Connecting siloes
No-code platforms are also very adept at connecting previously siloed processes - making workflows simpler and quicker. Let’s consider contract generation. Grab all the necessary info you need from a form or existing documents, pull in the required clauses from a clause library, initiate an approvals process with built-in redlining, then straight into DocuSign, and emailed out and automatically filed right where you want it in your document management system. All automated in one workflow.
Generating additional revenue streams with no-code
You have true ownership of what you build in a no-code platform like Neota.
This means that you can effectively sell access to what you build. Several Neota customers, particularly law firms, found that many clients were asking for the same service, and one that could be automated. An example involved assessing whether a particular transaction required disclosure to the relevant authorities. The law firm now sells runs of an automated tool, guiding a user through information-gathering questions, and advising on the matter. The possibilities really are endless.
Why no-code rather than code?
Custom automation has existed for decades. However, it has required the person building the tool to be expertly trained in coding languages like Java, HTML, C++, among others.
No-code platforms offer visual development environments specifically designed for non-technical users. No more asking for help from an (already swamped) IT team, or the high costs of external developers. No-code unlocks a whole world of potential, revolutionizing the accessibility of software development while drastically reducing the cost of having a suite of custom automation solutions.
Reshaping what’s possible
With Gartner predicting that 80% of technology products and services will be built by professionals outside of IT by 2024, many already consider no-code platforms as a central pillar of successful and scalable digital transformation.
With the ability to automate what you need - exactly how you want it done - maximizing value from your tech stack has never been easier, or as cost-effective. Unprecedented flexibility makes the ‘more for less, and faster’ challenge manageable, and enables law firms and legal teams to deploy an array of custom digital solutions built for their exact needs and requirements.
This article was sponsored by Neota. Contact Neota to find out more.
