The impact of the technology in a law firm

Nowadays, recent changes in technological orientation cannot be denied. As a race against time, since the beginning of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), all companies worldwide have launched the digitization of their processes and the implementation of remote work for their collaborators, in order to be able to continue with their activities.

Specifically in our country, the remote working was one of the first measures promoted by the Government in order to prevent the Coronavirus spreading, which, according to the Urgency Decree No. 026-2020, could be applied both by public and private employers unilaterally. In this regard, when the State of National Emergency was decreed on March 15, 2020, most companies and public entities from various sectors were forced to implement remote working in order to continue their operations; thus, the legal sector was not unrelated to the above-mentioned transition.

Even though this did not represent a major change for law firms that had successfully applied “teleworking” prior to the beginning of the lockdown in Peru, it was a difficult but successful challenge for law firms that had to work together with public entities such as the Judicial Branch, Prosecutor’s Office and Tax Courts, since their procedures were kept subject to in-person assignments, into a large extent.

Specifically for the Judicial Branch, tools developed prior to the pandemic, which were successfully adopted by lawyers and law firms, were key to restart judicial activities. Thus, it was evidenced that, for instance, the mandatory use of the electronic mailbox (provided by Law No. 30229 in 2015), the implementation of the Electronic Judicial File (EJE by its Peruvian acronyms) and the electronic reception desk (Administrative Resolution No. 041-2018-CE-PJ), had a great importance to restart judicial proceedings, this time remotely. Likewise, in order to restart activities, it was necessary for the Judicial Branch to use more technological tools, such as Google Hangouts Meet, to hold virtual hearings with the litigants (implemented by the Administrative Resolution No. 000173-2020-CE- PJ) and Google Workspace for internal communication and to manage procedural documents. In addition, the creation of new platforms such as the “User Service Module – CSJLI” – MAU (Administrative Resolution No. 000220-2020-P-CSJLI-PJ) and the reactivation of the application “The Judge listens to you” ( Administrative Resolution No. 375-2019-CE-PJ), among others, were also required.

In the private sector, law firms, like many companies that render professional services, had to rethink their internal procedures in order to make them compatible with the remote working. As a consequence, the IT area assumed an essential role in the company, given its close relation with the implementation and maintenance of services for the proper functioning under this modality. Also, in order to make remote working feasible, many companies began to digitize their documents because, for a law firm, the correct administration of documents allows the filing, organization, consultation and updating of files.

Considering first months of the State of Emergency. It was materially impossible to move written documents and enter them through the physical reception desk because these were not authorized. So, it became necessary to intensify the use of electronic signatures, a practice that provides authenticity to documents for their processing and is as a valuable tool for lawyers who, as legal professionals, depend on their signatures to validate their management.

In conclusion, it could be said although technological services do not completely replace in-person activities; they have proven to be useful, which is why it is necessary to evaluate their continuity when the pandemic is over. Therefore, it is necessary that law stakeholders adapt themselves to use these new tools, in the most Darwinian sense possible.