Long Island Business News asked Long Island leaders to reveal their predictions for the year ahead. MSNY Co-Founder Allison Johs offered her insights on ADR trends for 2025:
Mediation and arbitration, collectively known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), will continue to rise in 2025. The ability to conduct and attend hearings virtually makes ADR even more attractive to litigants and lawyers alike. Appearing virtually from the comfort of your own home or office significantly reduces both the time and costs required to get disputes resolved.
AI and other technology innovations will continue to have a major influence on the legal industry in 2025. AI will continue to be built into tools lawyers use to do their work on a daily basis, and even more new legal-specific AI tools will be introduced. These tools can help lawyers to automate reviews and summaries of documents such as medical records and deposition transcripts and perform tasks such as creating contracts or analyzing other data.
While some firms are returning to more in-person work, hybrid work arrangements will likely continue in 2025. The proliferation of both AI and hybrid work mean that lawyers and their clients will be relying even more heavily on the Internet. With cyberattacks on the rise, including cyberattacks on law firms, even solo lawyers will need to place more emphasis on cybersecurity in 2025, implementing cybersecurity policies and hiring firms to conduct cybersecurity testing.
Finally, the reduction in hours that results from the use of AI and other technology tools will push more lawyers–and their clients–to pursue alternative fee arrangements in place of the billable hour.
Read the full story on the Long Island Business News website.
Allison C. Johs is one of the co-founders of Mediation Solutions of NY, LLC and the founder and president of Legal Ease Consulting, Inc.