Legal Workflow Software for Up-and-Coming Practice Areas

The legal industry is constantly changing. With new technology, including legal workflow software, being developed and regulatory changes happening all around the world, some legal practice areas are booming in 2022. While the legal sector saw overall growth last year, certain practice areas are disproportionately responsible for the recent rise.

At Lupl, we are the leader in open industry legal workflow management. Our platform makes it easier for legal professionals to communicate, share documents, track progress, and get work done. With tech designed specifically for the legal industry, we have solutions for all practice areas. In this article, you will find an overview of some of the up-and-coming legal practices areas in 2022.

An Overview of the Fastest Growing Practices Areas in Law

Data Protection and Cybersecurity Compliance

Data security matters. Not only are businesses and organizations nationwide increasingly subject to more stringent data security regulations, but the direct financial and reputational harm of a data breach can be significant. According to a recent analysis conducted by IBM, the average total cost of the cybersecurity breaches reviewed now exceeds $4 million. Many companies have lost far more than that due to preventable cybersecurity breaches.

Many businesses, organizations, and agencies are putting a lot of resources into data security, including into compliance. The total spend on data security is expected to more than double over the next decade. Cybersecurity compliance is now one of the fastest growing legal practices areas. Data security laws are complex and they vary between states. Multinationals even need to worry about certain international regulations, particularly from the European Union (EU).

Decentralized Finance: Cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has become a huge issue. Investors, entrepreneurs, traditional financial institutions, and regulators are also trying to navigate new technological developments. As reported by CNBC, the ever-volatile cryptocurrency market is now worth more than $3 trillion. Other decentralized finance assets—most notably, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have also exploded over the past several years. Markets Insider reports that the value of NFTs is now almost as high as the value of global fine art.

Many legal practice areas are developing around decentralized finance and related decentralized technologies, including NFTs. Lawyers practicing in this up-and-coming practice area may have specialized knowledge and expertise regarding tax compliance, financial regulations, intellectual property law, copyright law, and trademark law. Lawyers and law firms that are in a position to take advantage of the demand could see strong growth in revenue.

Estate Planning and Elder Law

It is hard to think of a much more traditional legal practice area than estate planning or elder law. Yet, both of these practice areas are among the fastest growing in the industry. This is true for a number of different reasons. To start, the United States has a rapidly aging population. According to data provided by Rural Health Information Hub, there are currently around 45 million senior citizens nationwide. Over the next two decades, that number is expected to double—even though total population growth will be far more modest.

With the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, there is expected to be an explosion in demand for estate planning services and elder law services. We are just starting to see the first wave of that increase in market demand. Driven partially by anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic and partially by changes in lifestyle (marriage, kids, etc), Millennials are also starting to create estate plans at a much higher rate. The Wall Street Journal reports that there has been a 50% spike in the number of wills drafted by Millennials over the last three years. Still, nearly 80% of people under the age of 45 lack a comprehensive estate plan. Demand will remain strong.

Corporate: Antirust, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As)

According to a January 2022 report from Bloomberg law, growth in several corporate law practice areas are driving large law firms. While these are well-developed corporate practices areas, they are also “up-and-coming” because of strong growth and some regulatory/market changes. Specifically, Bloomberg Law notes strong growth across the following areas of corporate law:

• Antitrust Regulation: Over its first year, the Biden Administration has made it clear that it intends to strengthen antitrust enforcement. Lina M. Khan, the current Chairperson of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has long favored aggressive antitrust enforcement, including a more expansive definition of the term “monopoly” that has traditionally been used.
• Initial Public Offerings (IPOs): According to data from Nasdaq, 2021 was a record year for initial public offerings (IPOs). Strong growth is expected again in 2022. Notably, the rise in IPOs is being driven largely by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). A SPAC is a unique type of entity that requires specialized legal attention.
• Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have long been the driving force of many transactional practices in biglaw firms. M&A is currently extremely strong. Bloomberg Law reports that more than $5 trillion in M&A deals were completed in the United States in 2021. There was a major increase in private equity transactions. Private equity continues to be an up-and-coming practice area for large law firms.

Legal Workflow Software: Lupl is Where Legal Works™ Across Practice Areas

Lupl is the place where legal work gets done. Praised by the Asia Business Law Journal as a “game-changer” for the legal industry, our open industry platform was designed specifically to meet the needs of the modern legal professional. Whether you are a seasoned veteran in your specialty or getting a new practice area off the ground, Lupl can make things easier and more efficient. Here are some of the key benefits of the platform:

• Coordination: Modern legal projects are often completed by multiple parties—potentially across departments or organizations. Lupl makes it easier to collaborate and coordinate. You can communicate securely and seamlessly share documents. Communication is especially important on projects that involve a large number of parties.
• Organization: Get a bird’s eye view of every project. With Lupl, you will get access to a single hub where you will have a real time, 360 degree picture of everything that is happening with a key project. No longer will work get forgotten or duplicated. No matter your legal practice area, you can benefit from improved efficiency.
• Compatibility: Lupl is completely compatible with many of the most popular third party applications and other tech tools. If you have a system that works for your practice area, you do not have to start from scratch. Lupl is easily integrated into existing systems.

While every legal practice area is unique, lawyers and other legal professionals also have many common needs. We are well-suited to work with law firms, legal organizations, and attorneys across all practice areas. Are you ready to improve your legal technology so that you and your team can focus on what you do best? We are here to help. You can get started with Lupl for free today or you can request a comprehensive demo from one of our professionals.

Request Your Free Demonstration With Lupl Today

At Lupl, we work with Biglaw firms, corporate legal departments, legal organizations, small firms, and solo practitioners. The platform was created specifically with the needs of legal practitioners in mind. No matter your circumstances or your practice area(s), our team is here to help connect you with the technology you need. If you have any specific questions about our platform, we are more than ready to help. Give us a call or contact Lupl now to get started today.