Table of Content


Overview
Catalyst
Summary
Virtual law firms are transforming how legal services are accessed
Growth of virtual law is disrupting long-established practices, shaking up legal services market
Virtual law is allowing creation of bespoke legal firms able to work better in niche segments
Benefits of virtual law firms suggests trend will speed up over coming years but future is not all rosy
Smart contracts threaten technological shakeup, but fundamental problems remain
Argument in favor of smart contacts is gathering strength, signaling potentially massive change in legal services market
Practical application issues must be overcome for smart contracts to fulfill potential
Legal issues must be overcome for smart contracts to become commonplace
Artificial intelligence is inciting fundamental change in legal services
Mundane tasks can now be performed by artificial intelligence, streamlining legal services market
Legal practitioners are beginning to use AI to better understand judges, improving results
Client pressure will drive adoption of artificial intelligence
Fake lawyers remain a serious problem in developing legal services markets
Online sphere enables fake lawyers to lure consumers, undermining genuine legal practices
Using online tools has made life much harder for fake lawyers, easing threats
Problem of fake lawyers in developing economies is substantial
Conclusions
Technology is transforming legal services even though some problems are unsolved
Appendix
Sources
Further Reading
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List of Figures


Figure 1: Virtual law artists impression
Figure 2: Vario by Pinsent Masons
Figure 3: Pinsent Masons revenue 2014 to 2018 (?m)
Figure 4: Blockchain
Figure 5: OpenLaw
Figure 6: Global number of legal practitioners (million) 2010 to 2017
Figure 7: Ravel Law
Figure 8: Bank of America net profit ($bn) 2011 to 2017
Figure 9: US Internet Service Providers revenue ($bn) 2013 to 2017
Figure 10: Legal domain name
Figure 11: Number of legal practitioners working in India (millions)


List of Tables