As humans, we are thought to be cognitively hardwired to resist change. As lawyers, this predisposition has been reinforced through years of adhering to precedent and defending the status quo – lending the profession a reputation of conservatism.  Shogo Osaka, Managing Director, Legal at FedEx Express North Pacific region, recognizes this characteristic of the occupation, but is optimistic about its potential for development. “We are too busy with traditional legal work to spare time for learning and practicing technology which has yet to be valued as our profession’s core competency,” he said. “But given our profession’s strong logical thinking skills, I believe lawyers are capable enough to catch up with technology if so motivated.” Daniel Walker, Chief Commercial Officer of Zegal, an ‘end-to-end platform for the legals smaller companies need’, shares similar sentiments. “From my view,” he said, “it’s not that lawyers are against technology, it’s simply that they are very focused on the law and anything outside of that is less important. Legal tech has highlighted the inefficiencies of the traditional law firm structure and now clients are asking for a more efficient, less expensive structure.” Pandemic Shake-Up While technological innovation may have received a cool embrace by the sector pre-pandemic, COVID-19 has forced a shake-up within the legal profession.  Change became our constant as we moved to lockdowns and working from home. Courts were disrupted and the business travel we loved to hate was cancelled (although see this issue’s article by Ban Jiun Ean of Maxwell Chambers on why it may yet come back strong). Up sprang both new solutions and those which had quietly been sitting...