Bachelor's Thesis Paul Poppe

Exploring the Gap between the Academic and Practical Perspective of Legal Tech

Abstract:

In the age of Artificial Intelligence, the question has become whether these seemingly ubiquitous technologies can aid in the automation and improvement of societal functions. Particularly in the legal domain, the utilization of technology has sparked a surge into the development of Legal Technologies, or simply, Legal Tech.

Recent research, however, has indicated that highly advanced technologies developed for legal use cases, especially those stemming from the field of Natural Language Processing, have yet to make their way into practice. Despite promising technological results, the state of adoption of Legal Tech remains slow, perhaps due to factors beyond the technology itself.

In this thesis, the main goal is to investigate this gap, namely at the point between technological advancements and practical adoption. Building upon the results of previously completed research, the thesis will employ the use of semi-structured interviews with legal professionals in the German-speaking region. In these interviews, the primary aim will be to gauge the level of adoption of LegalTech, both from the academic definition and the practical point of view.

The result of the research will be a systematic overview of the LegalTech landscape, focusing on the level of adoption, challenges faced by practitioners, observed success factors and potential solution concepts, and general insights into the matter.

Research Questions

1. How can the adoption of legal tech in academia and practice be effectively measured in terms of usage and impact?
2. What is the current state of legal tech in practice, and what are the prevailing challenges and limitations, compared to the current state of legal tech in academia?
3. Which reasons or success factors influence the adoption rate of legal tech in practice and how can barriers hindering adoption be addressed?