From Niche to Necessity — Why Scotland's solicitors are embracing a legal tech revolution

The Law Society of Scotland’s Legal Technology Conference 2025 marked a milestone in the evolution of our country’s adoption of legal tech, says the event’s co-chair Aleks Tomczyk.

With more than 250 people attending in person and over 600 registered online, the Legal Technology Conference 2025 set new records for participation, highlighting the growing interest in technology innovation among stakeholders in Scotland’s legal sector.

An impressive range of delegates reflected the broad impact and future importance of legal technology. Attendees and speakers came from firms of all sizes, government, politics, legal institutions, legal techs and practitioners at all stages of their careers. Expert speakers came from within Scotland, nearby and as far away as the west coast of Canada.

However, the really big thing that I noticed this year, that signalled momentum shift, was an increase in the energy and interest levels at the event – it is clear that legal technology is no longer something that ‘some people somewhere else’ do, but something that the majority of people in the sector are interested in and know they need to embrace.

Key takeaways from the conference

• AI in use: While its full potential remains unknown (and is potentially amazing), artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant concept; it is being actively trialled and integrated into legal operations. The conference featured demonstrations of how AI tools are streamlining everything from contract analysis and document review to legal research and case management. Examples showcased the tangible benefits in speed, accuracy and client service.
• AI risks and opportunities: While the adoption of AI presents many advantages, speakers addressed important ethical considerations and potential risks such as data privacy, bias, inclusivity and accountability. Experts encouraged us to approach AI with both enthusiasm and vigilance, ensuring responsible use and transparency. The message was clear: embracing AI offers significant opportunities for efficiency, growth and improved legal outcomes, but it must be balanced with strong ethical foundations and guardrails.
• Innovation and adoption: Innovation was a recurring theme throughout the sessions, with particular emphasis on making legal tech easy and adoption successful. This year workshops and roundtable discussions included significant focus on small practices, with practitioners saying technology was enabling them to compete effectively and serve clients more efficiently. It was great to hear solo/small practitioners benefiting from innovation too.
• Cyber security: As the sector increases its use of digital tools, cyber security and data integrity become ever more crucial. An insightful session with a security specialist gave threat insight and offered actionable strategies for mitigating risk, protecting data and maintaining business continuity.
• Skills development: Trainees and others entering the sector are digital natives, with some getting structured legal tech induction as part of their development. ‘Legal technologist’ is an increasingly common role in the sector and will become more common.
• Legal tech providers: Scottish-native and Scots law-enabled tech providers/solutions are growing successfully, providing tech that is increasingly easy for all to adopt and gain value from.  
• Energy and partnership: The atmosphere at the conference was one of learning, optimism and collaboration. The buzz at the breaks and in the exhibition areas was striking, with lively discussions, enthusiastic networking and real desire to find out what others were doing.

The future is now

In summary, it is clear that legal tech solutions are now being adopted by firms of all sizes across Scotland, with the pace of uptake increasing rapidly. Adopters are already seeing tangible benefits, including greater efficiency, improved client service, increased competitiveness and access to new business opportunities.

In my view, the future success of the Scottish legal sector is inextricably linked to technology adoption; being digitally enabled is a necessity.

Why? Because by successfully adopting technology we enable application of the law and also enable increased economic prosperity. It has been a while since I felt optimistic that trends in these areas were heading in the right direction – this event gave me some hope! 

Written by Aleks Tomczyk, co-chair of the Legal Technology Conference, board member of LawscotTech and director of Estatesearch Group (with some drafting help from an AI). The views expressed here are personal.