Blockchain technology has the potential to change the world by bringing transparency and safety to global datasets. Since every piece of data recorded on the ledger is untouchable, meaning no one can delete or alter it, blockchain’s traceability features can help manage counterfeiting and fraud.
Blockchain can be helpful in various industries, including healthcare, where drug traceability, IoT security, and credential verification can be implemented. Education could also use decentralised ledgers for copyright protection, file storage, and transparency.
However, the legal industry might be the industry most requiring this technology, as it has been slow to adapt to modern practices. With increasing digital expectations, the law sector must switch from traditional methods and hardware-based activities and approach more software and innovative solutions like blockchain. Here’s why it could help.
Blockchain brings more traceability
Blockchain’s decentralised features make it transparent since there’s no central authority controlling the ecosystem. Depending on how the blockchain works, it could be maintained by more or fewer nodes, miners, and validators who ensure the network is working safely.
Transparency is essential in legal services, but it can be challenging to maintain, considering the nature of the centralised system. However, with blockchain, users and employees can also benefit from ease of access and reliable information. Properly recording information on the ledger can also help enormously in cases in which companies breached their duty of care, where advisors can access important information for the case. A successful personal injury claim requires evidence, which is not always easy to procure, but this can change with blockchain.
Blockchain is a cost-saving solution
Automating manual legal tasks could save legal companies from time-consuming labour, especially when it comes to day-to-day management, contracts for sale or B2B collaboration. Blockchain offers automation through smart contracts, developers can program according to a company’s needs.
Since many lawyers and related employees spend their time on administrative tasks, taking advantage of smart contracts and legal agreement repository technology can help them save time and money. Blockchain can also aid in transactions between parties by lowering fees and accelerating processing times. This could make legal services more approachable and accessible for a broader range of customers and encourage collaborators to expand their partnerships.
Blockchain ensures data integrity
Data integrity is crucial in the legal industry, but ensuring it is difficult in the modern age of technology. Hackers can always enter legal systems with the right amount of knowledge. Since most of these systems are far from being protected, the integrity of the data used can be questionable.
However, blockchain technology is known for its extremely safe environment, where hacking with the system is close to impossible. Since data is stored on the ledger and cryptographic functions transform information into unique hashes, tampering with it would immediately be detected. Law employees can also use digital signatures to seize the authenticity and origin of the data they access.
How can blockchain be useful in the legal industry?
While it seems blockchain only benefits data-related sectors in the legal industry, its potential use cases expand over the following departments:
- Electronic signatures authenticate and validate transactions;
- Property rights can hash land records and administration services on the blockchain;
- Limited liability autonomous organisations (LAO) allow for decentralised management;
- Automated regulatory compliance through smart contract technology;
- Chain of custody secures evidence from the collection moment until it’s presented;
Of course, blockchain offers endless opportunities in the industry. Tokenization, for example, is an emerging technology that allows every type of asset to be digitalised for enhanced processing. In the legal industry, tokenization can be used in the form of IP rights and microtransactions, through which creators can legally sell parts of their assets.
What are the challenges of blockchain in the legal industry?
Although blockchain could revolutionise the sector, its lack of proper management could impose several risks to data integrity. For example, the lack of developers specialised in the industry hinders blockchain’s progress in being introduced as an alternative to traditional systems. Since the blockchain learning curve is steep, it will take some time for professionals to shape their blockchain-related skills.
At the same time, blockchain and cryptocurrencies still lack adequate regulation across most countries, meaning their legal introduction is not doable at the moment. While the new US administration is inclined towards these emerging technologies, shaping an adequate legal framework takes time and experimentation with volatile assets and complex knowledge.
Still, technology has become a new trend in the legal sector
As demand for technological advancements grows, we’re seeing interesting trends for 2025 and beyond in the legal industry. For example, artificial intelligence will become a frequently used tool by law experts as it accelerates productivity in research. AI databases can be trained to offer the information needed for certain tasks, and they could also better manage biases.
Overall, law firms will make more investments that will reduce administrative workloads. AI might soon complete document automation, email customisation, and case management so that professionals can have more time to focus on important tasks and client meetings.
We might also see a rise in Small Language Models (SLMs), through which data will be provided according to contextual importance. This will forever change legal research and document management, offering precise and relevant information at rapid speed.
Finally, GenAI will also be introduced in regard to data silos, which will combine human support for decision-making in processing large data sets. Through enhanced integration, law firms could benefit from the fastest and most efficient data integrations, managing multiple cases at once and cutting down processing times.
What do you think about blockchain in the legal industry?
Blockchain can change the world by bringing more automation and decentralisation within traditional and outperformed systems. Since data security and integrity are more important than ever, and security risks are everywhere around the corner, securing data systems is the most important thing. Therefore, law firms would greatly benefit from blockchain concerning data transparency and cost-saving strategies. However, challenges such as the lack of regulation and steep learning curve might impede its introduction in the sector.