The purpose of robotic process automation (RPA) is to automate those repetitive and manual tasks that all businesses encounter. In doing so, employees can instead concentrate on tasks that require the actual skills that match their training. This is especially important today, as companies are operating leaner with hybrid remote workers than ever.
In the BFSI (Banking, Finance, Securities, Insurance) space, RPA is helping to speed up mundane tasks, producing considerable cost savings and better service. But, according to "Forbes Magazine," the legal field is lagging far behind. By empowering your firm with RPA, you can do more with less resources while reducing risk and human error.
Why Attorneys and Law Firms Should Consider This Game-Changing Technology 
Ironically, there is no industry that is trying to do more with fewer people than the legal industry. And there are few fields that require as many manual tasks. Does it make sense to have a highly compensated partner, for instance, spend their valuable time filling out compliance forms? Even a talented paralegal's time is more valuable than that. Clearly, it's time for the legal field to exploit this technology. Robotic process automation for law firms is an invention whose time has come.
Just by scratching the surface, it's easy to come up with reasons that law firms should use the robotic process automation for law firms. Here are the top five:
1. Contract Revisions
Legal firms use boilerplate clauses that fit different situations. They may also have standard contract language that does not change under any circumstances. Rules-based robotic process automation for law firms can assure that revisions conform to the rules defined by the lawyer or law firm. If the firm does business nationally, it can tailor the rules to suit individual state requirements.
2. Audits
There is nothing as tedious or time-consuming as conducting an audit. RPA can help by automatically assigning the right tasks to the right people and keeping all parties on the same page via a user dashboard. It can also automate access control, which lends security and integrity to the process.
3. Invoicing
As with the earlier two items, manual invoicing is cumbersome and prone to error. RPA can assure speed and accuracy of invoicing and the reconciliation process. It can also perform many of the manual tasks that slow down the bookkeeping process and become an obstacle to smooth business operations.
4. Responding to Questions
Prospective clients and actual clients have questions. Answering these questions takes time, and legal staff cannot always respond quickly. RPA can deploy bots to answer legal questions online. And with bots equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning, the breadth of questions they can answer has expanded and will continue to do so.
5. Compliance
Compliance is one of the most painful processes all businesses face. In fact, it's one of the key drivers of the adoption of RPA by financial and insurance firms. Compliance tasks are laborious and demand meticulous conformity. Errors are costly and can lead to disastrous consequences, including both civil and criminal liabilities.
By automating compliance forms and processes, law firms can minimize the chance of human error. The automatic scheduling of compliance obligations ensures the firm meets important deadlines. Regulations will not go away — ever. In fact, they are likely to increase, as will the consequences for noncompliance. Robotic process automation for law firms offers effective insulation from their potential sting.
Conclusion
The practice of law is too important to be bogged down by the onslaught of regulations and paperwork that today's businesses face. A lack of human capital or a tight budget can too easily compromise efficiency and security. In short, RPA can be the difference between survival and prosperity, between evolution and extinction. For the legal profession, the time to adopt robotic process automation is here.
Robotic process automation for law firms is not a one-click-of-the-mouse, anyone-can-do-it solution. It takes a combination of technical and legal ability, and collaboration between both, to develop a suitable strategy. The first step your law firm or individual law practice should take is to consult with the experts at RDA and get started with an RPA workshop.
