Legal technology changes quickly, and the speed of change is only accelerating. In order to ensure they continue delivering business value along with positive outcomes, corporate legal departments must not only keep up with the latest developments but also constantly prepare for the future.
How to stay prepared is the focus of our latest podcast episode: Legal Leaders Exchange: The Future-Ready Lawyer - How legal departments can get ready for what's next. In it, two of Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions’ legal technology experts – Nathan Cemenska, Director of Legal Operations and Industry Insights, and Barry Ader, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing – talk about the strategies that can help legal departments become the best possible business partner to the corporation as they move forward. Here are a few of the most effective ways for legal teams to be ready for the future.
Conduct a maturity assessment
One of the foundational elements of remaining future-ready is having and maintaining a legal technology roadmap. When creating one, you need to know where to start and which areas to focus on. A maturity assessment is the best way to answer these questions and improve your understanding of what your business needs from a technology perspective.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach because every company is different with a unique set of goals and strategies that will determine what you include in your assessment. With these goals identified, you conduct the assessment by measuring your performance against them. The results will provide information that will help your team focus your energies and create a legal technology roadmap that will help you mature and better meet your organizational goals.
Make data-informed decisions
Traditionally, decisions by corporate legal professionals about which law firms they would assign to work on particular matters were heavily dependent on an individual’s or a department’s relationships with those firms. In recent years, however, it has become much more common for legal teams to use technology tools to gain a better understanding of whether relationships are the right basis for these important decisions. Many departments are now using data to determine the best outside counsel law firm to use on specific matters or across particular disciplines or verticals.
This is a significant shift that is increasing technology and process maturity in law departments across industries. Data is being put to use to decide the structure of law firm panels and to increase diversity among the outside counsel lawyers assigned to corporate legal work.
Our experts noted that interpersonal relationships, and the knowledge they give in-house lawyers about the skills and track records of their law firm counterparts, aren’t going away. Relationships are likely to remain an important factor in firm selection, but the trend is for that to be backed up by data that supports the selections on a business level.
Balance proven solutions with innovation
In most organizations, there is a tendency to lean on known solutions and processes that have worked well in the past. This is a wise and reasonable approach. However, relying too heavily on what legal professionals have always done can lead to a law department that truly is not future-ready.
Artificial intelligence is a good example of the tension between new and established technology. AI has been a part of legal technology for long enough that there are proven, practical examples of how AI can help legal teams. ELM Solutions' own LegalVIEW® BillAnalyzer and Predictive Insights are both excellent examples of AI building on foundational data and delivering real results right now.
With that said, though, the technology industry is fueled by innovation. Companies that do not remain open to evaluating and considering new technologies as they emerge will not be poised for optimal performance in the future. To be future-ready, you should engage with providers that have both technological proficiency and legal domain expertise. When these technology partners introduce new solutions, make sure that they provide real, practical help and value.
To hear the full discussion or to read the transcript, visit the podcast page: Legal Leaders Exchange: The Future-Ready Lawyer - How legal departments can get ready for what's next. If you are a podcast app user, be sure to follow our Legal Leaders Exchange show on your favorite app (Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Amazon / Audible.com, iHeart Radio), to make sure that you don’t miss any of our informative episodes.
