In our latest webinar on residential real estate law, hosted by The Legal Innovation Forum in association with LEAP and Closer, we brought together legal and technology leaders to examine the shifting terrain of residential transactions in Canada. With market conditions in flux (on account of rising financing complexities, client uncertainty, and greater operational pressure) our panel explored how lawyers are adapting their workflows, enhancing client communication, and leveraging legal tech to navigate this moment of disruption.
Attendees heard firsthand how firms are dealing with presale risks, evolving lender expectations, and tighter transaction timelines, while also embracing tools that streamline conveyancing and improve service delivery.
The panel featured Lisa Niro, Managing Partner at Bell Alliance LLP; Ali Sodagar, Lawyer at Sodagar & Company; David Richardson, Business Development Manager at LEAP; and Harrison Kelly, Co-Founder and CEO of Closer. The session was chaired by Andrew Bowyer, Founder and CEO of The Legal Innovation Forum.
This three part blog series distills key insights from the conversation, with select video excerpts to explore the discussion further.
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With market volatility, rising transaction complexity, and evolving client expectations, real estate law firms are being pushed to modernize their operations. AI, automation, and integrated platforms are no longer optional—they’re becoming essential to remain competitive and resilient.
At a recent legal technology webinar focused on residential real estate law, legal leaders and tech providers discussed how this transformation is unfolding across firms of all sizes—and why the current moment is a critical inflection point.
“We do business planning every single year,” said Lisa Niro, Managing Partner at Bell Alliance LLP. “And systems and process improvement is part of our planning every year. You sort of come up with a roadmap and a plan, and then you’re ready to execute—and you’re thinking, man, is this already outdated?”
That pace of change is being driven by both internal and external forces. As deal volumes slow and complexity increases, lawyers are spending more time negotiating custom terms, resolving disputes, and managing risk. The result is mounting pressure to reduce time spent on administrative and repetitive tasks.
This is where technology is playing a central role. Tools like LEAP and Closer are helping firms automate the basics, freeing up time for more valuable work. LEAP, a cloud-based legal practice management platform, integrates matter management, document generation, accounting, and AI-powered search. Closer complements this by using AI to scan agreements of purchase and sale and auto-fill matter files.
“We sat down as one of the first things we tried to do was to read the agreement of purchase and sale,” said Harrison Kelly, CEO of Closer. “The technology wasn’t ready in 2020. It is now… We’ve run 15,000 of them, and we save about 15 minutes per transaction.”
For firms operating in a slower market, that kind of efficiency isn’t just convenient. It’s strategic. “When things are slower, there’s pressure to do more with less,” Kelly said. “That’s the silver lining.”
Niro agreed, sharing that her firm used the downturn as a moment to revisit and relaunch technologies that hadn’t worked in the past.
“We attempted [tablet signing] back in 2016. It failed… We’re now relaunching it. The technology is there. You have to keep trying and keep thinking of how you can make things better.”
Importantly, the adoption of AI and automation isn’t about replacing legal professionals; it’s about enabling them.
“It’s not replacing people,” said Kelly. “It allows you to spend the time where it matters.”
David Richardson, Business Development Manager at LEAP, echoed this sentiment: “It’s not about eliminating jobs… It’s about enabling them to work smarter and more effectively. Not having to spend several hours looking through dozens of different documents to find one piece of information.”
Instead of getting bogged down in form generation or data entry, lawyers can focus on client experience and problem-solving—particularly important in high-value, high-stakes transactions.
“Our job as lawyers should be the client rapport, providing legal advice, and problem-solving,” said Niro. “We shouldn’t be involved in the data entry or preparing standardized documents.”
Client expectations are also shifting. With AI becoming more embedded in day-to-day life, firms that lag behind risk being seen as out of touch.
“Clients are expecting us to use technology and AI,” Niro added. “If you’re not, people are going to say, well, you have these other resources… why aren’t you using them?”
That cultural shift (from legal professionals and clients alike) is accelerating adoption across the industry.
“Invest in technology,” said Ali Sodegar, Principal at Sodegar & Company. “It’s going to pay dividends in the long term for sure.”
The firms that act now, replacing outdated systems, streamlining workflows, and building capacity for higher-value legal work, won’t just survive market turbulence. They’ll be well-positioned to lead when the recovery comes.