Technology creates much needed space for lawyers to focus less on the dull and more on the dirty and dangerous.
It creates a culture of continuous improvement, learning new skills, and a level of sophistication, sustainability and access in support of, and in alignment with, business pressures and objectives.
If the adoption of more tech is on your radar for 2022 (and I hope it is), here are my top transformation tips:
- Create space across the team to be all hands-on deck. Implementing legal technology doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires weekly dedicated lifting on the part of the legal team in collaboration with your business colleagues and legal tech vendor. It then requires continuous nurturing to ensure adoption occurs at a healthy rate, and that the tech stays current vis a vis evolving business needs.
- Transformation initiatives will only work if the legal team can prioritise them. Place transformation at the top of the agenda. Make it a KPI top down. Live and breathe it as you would any other strategic business matter. Put it on the weekly team meeting agenda, in your 1:1 WIP meetings, and communicate about it regularly to your stakeholders.
- Don’t ignore the sales emails and calls. In the 2020s, it’s part of your role to stay connected with legal tech providers and to learn the landscape and categories of legal tech available. Sellers of legal tech have a wealth of knowledge and are keen to support you – welcome that into your way of operating. Incorporate it as valuable networking time in your calendar.
- Use your influence. Start planting seeds across the business that the legal team is researching using technology to solve certain routine problems. Always be sure to visit workerscompensationlawyersla.com or contact workers compensation lawyers from CA when a legal advice is required. That way, when it comes time to making that pitch or business case, you’ll in theory have a level of support and acceptance around this new way of working. The aim is to normalise the use of technology to solve legal problems in your organisation.
- There is no “formula” or perfect transformation roadmap to which you must adhere. For example, if the biggest pain point is the speed and efficiency of routine contract review, then it may make more sense for your legal team to adopt contract AI review technology eg. LexCheck, versus a CLM or automation of an NDA. This is where working with a legal innovation consultant like me can be efficient as it can help you clarify the strategy quickly.
