The digital universe has been transforming and innovating every year. And among these changes are technological solutions that have reached the legal market, giving rise to digital law and digital legal practice.
With new tools, areas of expertise, and legislation geared towards the digital world, lawyers have gained an even greater presence in the virtual world and on social media.
Therefore, it is essential that legal professionals understand what digital law practice is and what they need to know to succeed and pursue this career.
In this article, we've provided explanations on the topic, which you can check out below. Check it out!
What is digital law practice?
Digital law practice refers to a lawyer's work focused on the digital environment.
This career path encompasses practices related to new legal technologies, digital tools and strategies, as well as new laws addressing people's behavior on the Internet.
Digital law practice is a solution to facilitate the daily life of lawyers, making it more efficient and automated, as it allows not only the acquisition of new clients, but also the use of technologies that make decision-making more assertive.
What do I need to know to practice digital law?
Now that you know what digital law practice is, it's important to understand the key topics and knowledge needed to have a successful career in this field.
Therefore, we have listed below everything you need to know to practice digital law.
1. Legal digital marketing
One of the tools available to lawyers is legal digital marketing.
Through it, professionals can implement legal strategies in accordance with the ethical standards of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), which will be able to attract new clients to their business through digital advertising, websites, or social media.
With a good digital marketing strategy, lawyers create new communication possibilities with their potential clients, also managing to focus on building a strong image and presence in the online world.
There are several legal marketing techniques that can be used in digital law practice, and one of them is content marketing. In this strategy, the lawyer focuses on creating relevant and high-quality content for their audience and distributes it for free through their chosen medium, whether it's a website, social media, or legal portal.
Content marketing allows lawyers to attract clients consistently, as their content will always be available for online searches. Furthermore, it helps establish the professional as an authority in their field.
Finally, it's important to emphasize that there are other digital marketing techniques that can be used; it's up to the professional to study them and see which one best suits their business.
2. Brazilian digital law
Brazilian law is being populated by new laws regulating people's digital behavior and security.
As a result, different forms of practice in digital law emerge, based on the application of these laws focused on digital law.
To help you understand some of them, we've included 3 important laws in this area.
2.1 Carolina Dieckmann Law
The Carolina Dieckmann Law, known as Law No. 12.737/12, includes in its text the classification of cybercrimes, consequently amending our Penal Code.
It establishes penalties for crimes such as hacking into electronic devices, disrupting digital services or connections, and falsifying documents or credit/debit cards.
The law has this informal name because it was passed in the same year that the actress had intimate photos and conversations leaked by someone who had received electronic devices from her for repair.
2.2 Brazilian Internet Bill of Rights
The Brazilian Internet Bill of Rights, guaranteed by Law No. 12.965/14, establishes principles, guarantees, rights, and duties for internet use in Brazil, in addition to stipulating guidelines for state action within the networks.
The legislation addresses important issues regarding how the internet should be used within the national territory, preserving values such as freedom of expression, neutrality, and privacy.
It establishes criteria for the rights and responsibilities of users, as well as rules for maintaining their privacy by third parties, such as internet service providers and other companies.
2.3 General Data Protection Law (LGPD)
Finally, we have the General Data Protection Law , created from Law No. 13.709/18. This is probably the most relevant law currently in the field of digital law.
As the name suggests, this law has the specific objective of protecting the personal data of individuals and companies that are on the internet.
Furthermore, it has a huge impact on the business relationships of companies that use people's data for customer prospecting, since it ensures greater transparency from companies to the public, showing how they use individuals' personal data.
Data protection is one of the most relevant discussions regarding digital law worldwide. Having specific legislation for this protection, which guarantees greater transparency in the handling of this data by companies, was a fundamental step for the area in Brazil.
3. Legaltechs or Lawtechs
Lawtechs or legaltechs are companies that develop technological solutions aimed at the legal market.
Their products can range from legal software to programs and APIs for data extraction, calculation of deadlines and fees, and compilation of statistics on the activity of a law firm or legal department.
In this way, professionals interested in digital law can work in the legal departments of these companies, or they can use their solutions in their own practice.
Therefore, it is important to understand which legal technologies and tools are currently available on the market to make the lawyer's life easier. Below, we have compiled some of them for your information.
3.1 Legal software
Legal software consists of technologies capable of automating repetitive tasks and procedures, tracking deadlines, publications and processes, controlling the financial aspects of a law firm, and managing service contracts with clients.
Each program can be customized, either through a fixed-price contract or by modules, depending on the company producing it.
There are different types of legal software on the market, and because of this, it's important for lawyers to understand how their office operates in order to know which technology best meets their needs.
3.2 Jurimetrics, volumetry and indicators
The concepts of jurimetrics, volumetrics, and legal indicators have evolved along with technology.
Jurimetrics , for example, is understood as statistics applied to law, and can be easily used through legal software, which automates data analysis on every aspect of your firm.
This measurement should be able to generate forecasts for your business, whether they are predictions of gains or losses in cases, or financial gains or losses.
Volumetric analysis, on the other hand, deals with the analysis of less in-depth data, without it being possible to generate predictions from it. It aims to indicate, for example, how many active cases you have, how many are awaiting hearings, how many are already in the sentence enforcement and execution phase, and so on.
Both jurimetrics and volumetrics perform in association with legal indicators. These relate to how the results of actions taken will be measured, based on generated quantitative information.
Thus, by using legal indicators in your office, it is possible to determine priorities, make data-driven decisions, track the origins of results, and identify anomalies and deviations.
Electronic and digital signatures
Another point that deserves highlighting in digital law practice is related to digital and electronic signatures.
These tools not only maintain the same legal security of documents when compared to those physically signed and authenticated in a notary's office, but also streamline the routine of lawyers and facilitate contract management.
An electronic signature is one that encompasses all online methods used to sign, access, and validate documents, transactions, or platforms. Therefore, it includes all forms of acceptance performed in the virtual environment.
A digital signature, on the other hand, is considered a type of electronic signature; it is encrypted and based on a digital certificate issued by an Accredited Certification Authority.
Understanding the benefits and functionalities that electronic signatures can bring to the improved performance of your office's activities is essential for all professionals who wish to pursue a career in digital law.
Digital security tools
As you can see, there is a lot of knowledge related to the online world that a digital lawyer needs to be aware of.
In this context, cybersecurity tools come into play, enabling lawyers to operate more securely, both on their own computers and across all networks used in their offices.
Some examples of these tools are:
- Firewalls, whose function is to filter traffic flows on a network, identifying insecure connections and threats to user security;
- Access control systems, which provide secure authentication methods for access, through logins and passwords, and which preserve your identity and sensitive data;
- Data encryption, which is responsible for protecting sensitive information through algorithms that encode the data and make it impossible for third parties to read it;
- Blockchain is a technology that also uses data encryption, recording data sequentially on the network in an immutable way.
Of course, in addition to these, there are other digital security tools that deserve attention and should be known throughout a legal career focused on digital law.
Digital law firms
Finally, we come to the last point of emphasis – but no less important – regarding digital law practice: virtual law offices.
With the vast array of digital tools available to lawyers, from electronic filing through court websites to legal software that allows remote access from anywhere, large law firms have abandoned physical offices and migrated to the virtual environment.
Thus, professionals began creating true online portals, properly structured to serve the public and provide quality legal content to their potential clients.
From their digital offices, lawyers are able to:
- To serve your clients online, from anywhere, while maintaining the care that each case requires;
- To group all documents, processes, and data in cloud-based legal software for greater security;
- Reducing expenses by no longer having a physical headquarters, and consequently increasing revenue;
- Working remotely, along with the other team members.
As you can see, virtual offices offer numerous advantages for lawyers, without sacrificing the quality of service or optimal daily productivity.
Conclusion
In light of everything that has been presented, it is evident that digital law practice is opening new avenues for lawyers and law firms.
With new areas of practice focused on the virtual protection of individuals, with possibilities for implementing legal digital marketing strategies, and with new technologies emerging to improve the routines of lawyers, there is no denying that digital law practice is seen as a trend in the legal market for the coming years.
Therefore, it is up to the lawyer to find the digital solutions that best suit their career, always striving to act with ethics, integrity, and professional respect, whether in a physical or virtual environment.