Australian Legal Technology is thriving and now is the time to invest

So why should “home grown” legal technology be top of the list for those firms and practitioners looking to invest in their business? There is a huge range of local products here in Australia, developed specifically to address challenges in our local market. These products have clearly demonstrated successful deployment and ‘fit for purpose’ for Australian lawyers and firms, with many of our home-grown businesses proven to perform competitively on the global stage as well.

We have a full suite of locally produced products to meet the needs of Australian legal businesses. In most cases, there is no need to look anywhere else. Selecting Australian legal technology allows for a level of local support and engagement directly as a consumer, and for many businesses this enables direct input into future development plans through user groups and personal relationships with the technology provider. This is an important position to occupy as a consumer – the ability to feed your needs (and frustrations) with a product directly to the decision-making team and to be heard is invaluable in ensuring that the technology that you have chosen continues to evolve to meet your changing needs. With integration being a key opportunity/issue identified by providers and customers alike, the close-knit community of legal technology providers in Australia enables partnership and collaboration, leading to enhanced speed to market for integration.

Importantly, Australian legal technology companies are leading the way in the diversity stakes. The Global Legal Tech Report (GLTR) latest findings show that 50% of Australian legal tech companies are female-founded. The launch of Women of Australian Legal Technology (WALTA), a committee under the umbrella of ALTA, furthers support for female founders through empowering and inspiring women in legal technology.
At its most basic level, supporting Australian business is great for the Australian economy. As we move into a new world order, as a result of the many influences playing out in the geo-political global stage, the ability to support local business and to have certainty over supply chain and access to customer support when needed is increasingly important.