WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2020 — The American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center will begin releasing its ABA TechReport 2020, a comprehensive publication exploring how attorneys are using technology in their practices, on Oct. 19. TechReport 2020 combines data from the annual Legal Technology Survey Report with expert analysis, observations and predictions from legal technology leaders.
Separated into nine different articles on technology topics, TechReport 2020 covers the prominent areas in technology that lawyers face today. The survey reports concentrate on issues relating to technology use, not product use.
Examples of statistical information included in the annual survey report are:
· 7% of lawyers who responded are currently using artificial intelligence-based technology tools. Firms of 100 or more lawyers are most likely to be currently using AI-based technology tools (17%, compared with 26% in 2019), followed by 6% from solo firms and 4% each from firms of 2-9 and 10-49 attorneys (compared to 0% in 2019 and 12% in 2018).
· Respondents from firms of 100 or more attorneys are most likely to report their firms have an incident response plan (77%), followed by 38% of respondents from firms of 10-49, 19% of respondents from firms of 2-9, and 14% of solo respondents.
· Overall, 45% of firms report using legal analytics in the past year (compared with 49% in 2019); 29% cited legal analytics were used for conducting legal research, 19% cited developing case or matter strategy,15% cited understanding judges, and 14% cited business development.
The TechReport articles will begin posting on Law Technology Today on Oct. 19 and will run on Mondays through Dec. 7. Topics include:
· Cybersecurity
· Cloud Computing
· Solo & Small Firm
· Websites & Marketing
· Tech Training
· Practice Management
· Litigation & TAR
· Budgeting & Planning
The Legal Technology Survey Report, started more than two decades ago by the ABA Law Practice Division, is recognized as the primary source for information regarding the use of technology by attorneys in private practice. It is based on responses by practicing lawyers — not consultants, vendors or IT staff.
The survey report is separated into five volumes, including a combined edition, and is available for sale at shopaba.org:
- Vol. I: Online Research
- Vol. II: Tech Basics & Security
- Vol. III: Law Office Technology
- Vol. IV: Marketing & Communication Technology
- Vol. V: Litigation Technology & E-Discovery
The ABA Legal Technology Resource Center is dedicated to helping legal professionals leverage technology to overcome obstacles, identify opportunities and improve their practices. An ABA member benefit provided by the Law Practice Division, the LTRC offers many resources, including Law Technology Today, monthly webinars, the annual Legal Technology Survey Report and more.
The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. View our privacy statement online. Follow the latest ABA news at www.americanbar.org/news and on Twitter @ABANews.