THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL TO PROFFER SOLUTIONS TO LEGAL CHALLENGES

(A Paper Submitted for the Law x Tech Conference)

1.0 INTRODUCTION 

Although the legal sector underpins most socio-economic activities worldwide, it is troubling to discover that the legal sector is one of the slowest sectors in adopting technology, which is the emblem of the 21st century. The technology-averse attitude of the legal sector is a cosmopolitan issue given that a research conducted by the American Bar Association (ABA) revealed that a meagre 7% of law firms adopt technological innovations in dispensing their duties[1]. The outbreak of the novel COVID-19 further caused an unpleasant setback to legal services, as courtrooms and law firms were incapacitated by the overwhelming challenges that accompanied COVID-19. Indeed, technology comes with risks; however, the pros outweigh the cons. it is high time the legal sector bridged the technology gap; thus, espousing technological solutions as prescriptions for legal challenges. 

2.0 LEGAL CHALLENGES

Legal challenges refer to the factors that reduce the efficiency of legal systems. In overcoming these challenges, the peculiarities of these challenges must be critically examined.

First, contract review, legal research, and case filing are mundane yet challenging tasks that siphon lawyers’ precious time. All for pieces of information that could have been retrieved within minutes. Expert studies have revealed that lawyers spend about 50% of their insufficient time on tiring administrative tasks amidst the ever-increasing need for speedy client response[2]. The far-reaching effects of this challenge are a lull in the lawyers’ mental prowess, snail speed adjudication, and court case congestions. Overwhelming paperwork due to accumulated cases during the coronavirus pandemic added to the unsolved dilemma of court case congestions. The resultant effect of the ‘paperwork’ norm in the legal sphere is a delay in justice administration. It is apt to say that delayed justice is denied justice.

Also, multi-faceted difficulties in the admissibility of digital evidence caused by inexpert extraction, improper interpretation, and porous protection are recurring legal bottlenecks common in this era. The Internet of Things (IoT) – the interconnectivity of devices, has enabled an enormous amount of data, for example, timestamps and geographic data, about individuals to be stored. Thus, giving rise to e-evidence. However, in a recent publication, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) affirmed that very few developed countries have overcome the challenges of understanding and harnessing e-evidence[3]. Hence, the reverberating effect is the absence of equity and liberty through the law. Digital problems cannot be solved with analogue methods; therefore, digital-related issues are unsolvable with manual mentalities.

 

Furthermore, a globally prevalent legal difficulty is the problem of inflexible and archaic legal systems. In a recent report, The Guardian estimated that 5.1 billion people – two-thirds of the global population- could not access fundamental justice because of coronavirus[4], which is a consequence of the inflexible, technology skeptic legal systems. The effect of this difficulty, especially due to the COVID-19 lockdown control measures was: dormant cross-border litigations, and predominantly, an indefinite suspension of most legal activities worldwide. Sadly, without Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) systems that could function without the need for physical convergence, legal systems across the world became crippled. Thus, the last hope of the common man seemed helpless.

3.0 TECHNOLOGY: A TOOL TO OVERCOME LEGAL CHALLENGES

The era of denial is over. Technology is neither good nor bad; it is just a tool. An overwhelming abundance of solutions that can transform the legal sector is encapsulated in technology. In this light, the legal sphere can utilise technology to surmount her challenges in a number of ways.

First, through Natural Language Processing (NLP), Big Data analytics, and cloud computing the legal sector can be revamped. NLP, a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), gives computers the ability to understand human language; thus enabling intelligent document comprehension and speedy cognitive tasks[5]. Hence, document analysis and legal research can now be done easily, for example, Evisort uses NLP to help attorneys easily identify inconsistencies in provisions of a contract through a simple search. On the other hand, Big Data is a term that refers to the collation of massive amounts of data in all sectors around the world; it is the reason we can access information at our fingertips with a few clicks. Case references easily accessible via Big Data analytics enable predictability of challenges and possible outcomes of any legal case in a process called Technology Assisted Review (TAR); thereby, ensuring adequate preparation and fast-tracking courtroom procedures. Furthermore, cloud computing facilitates seamless and secure e-filing with the advantage of automatic maintenance[6]. Restoration of the legal landscape is realisable with technology.

Also, the diverse challenges affiliated with e-evidence can be easily levelled through effective information extraction tools and blockchain technology. ‘Hex Dumping’ is an extra mile extraction method that can recover deleted information; thus, ensuring transparency and validity of legal proceedings that involve e-evidence[7]. Recovered information can be properly secured through blockchain technology. Blockchain technology stores information in ‘blocks’, each block has a maximum capacity, when a block is filled up it is linked to other blocks in an orderly manner[8]. The beauty of blockchain is that data entered are irreversible, and records entered are permanently recorded[9]. Hence, resulting in an unaltered, hack-free, and court-admissible chain of custody. In this light, the need for a witness’s testimony to authenticate digital evidence is no longer needed. Subduing challenges associated with e-evidence would ensure proper justice.

Furthermore, the acceptance of e-courts, both virtual and online, is vital in stabilizing the legal sector. In virtual courts, the hearing process is synchronous, as all parties involved in the case must be present at the time of the hearing, meanwhile, the hearing process is asynchronous in online courts, for the judges are presented with evidence and arguments prior to the case[10]. Video conferencing tools, backed up with end-to-end encryption, like Zoom, used in virtual courts can also be used in physical courts to perfectly record and store court cases. E-Bay’s online court is recorded to remarkably resolve at least 60 million disputes yearly[11]; thus eradicating unnecessary backlog of cases. E-courts would widen and intensify the reach of local and cross-border judicial systems, irrespective of constraining national regulations.

4.0 AN OVERVIEW OF NIGERIA’S LEGAL CHALLENGES

The Nigerian legal system is predominantly hassled by the trio of court case congestion, the absence of modern work facilities, and porous witness protection. The Nigerian legal sector continues to be dependent on paper-based data, while most developed economies have transited to Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). Moreover, court sittings continue to feature stenographers and judges who shuttle between listening to counsels’ arguments and notes taking[12]. Furthermore, various cases of untraceable disappearance, even death, of witnesses have become commonplace. The fallouts of this precarious situation are slow-paced legal proceedings, omission of vital knowledge, and ultimately, error in judicial decisions. A report from the Premium Times corroborates the anomaly in the Nigerian legal system stating that at least 70% of those detained in Nigeria’s Correctional Centres have not been tried[13]. The COVID-19 pandemic conflagrated the sorry state of Nigeria’s legal systems; the time is overdue for overhauling. 

5.0 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS NECESSARY FOR ADOPTION OF LEGAL TECHNOLOGY 

Globally, policies aimed at the financial investment in legal technology coupled with mandatory technological training of legal practitioners in the use of legal technology would bridge the technology gap immensely. Law schools should incorporate technology-related courses in their curriculum. Legal representatives should also ensure that e-evidence extraction and interpretation processes are carried out by expert digital examiners. A benchmark of cyber security must be attained for technology to be adopted in the legal sphere. In addition, the government and concerned stakeholders should implement policies, inter alia, that would speed up the rate of digital revolution in less-developed countries. In this regard, the recently rejected virtual court proceedings bill by the Nigerian Senate[14] should be speedily revisited, passed, and implemented by the Nigerian government.

Commendably, the Nigerian legal system has kick-started measures in overcoming the technological deficit. The Federal High Court has championed this cause by accommodating virtual court proceedings[15], which have the awesome potential to decongest, facilitate and properly document court proceedings; hence, preserving both the life and testimony of the witness. Moreover, the availability of homegrown electronic law reports like Law Pavilion, and increasing use of e-filing and e-lodgement have been instrumental in promoting legal technology in Nigeria. These are laudable steps but Nigeria still has a long way to go.

6.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the legal sector which is the foundation of all sectors must have the barest minimum of challenges. In this Post-COVID era, technology solutions accompanied by financial support and technology-friendly policies are expedient to revitalize and uplift the legal sector. Legal technology would ensure the maximization of lawyers’ time; hence, enabling prompt resolution of pending cases, more financial returns, and more time to mentor young lawyers. All stakeholders should play their part in ensuring that in the nearest future, technology is embedded in legality.

Authors: Ifedolapo Ojo and Segun Ewuola (2022)

REFERENCES

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