Building an innovation mindset at law firms
David Hepburn at Actionstep says real legal innovation comes about when firms are willing to challenge the status quo and bring quality and service issues to light – and then commit to solving them.
Most innovation comes when firms realise that a secure future requires less reliance on the ‘human glue’ in their service delivery and processes. Whether that’s working out inefficiencies in their business processes or freeing up lawyers for higher-value work, the outcome is often the same – a better experience for clients. These firms are moving the goalposts for everyone else.
Nonetheless, law firms are facing pressure from every angle: competitive pressure from more innovative firms or alternative legal service providers; pressure to deliver more within fixed fees – heightening the need for efficiency and automation; pressure to refocus on higher-value activities that might not be in everyone’s comfort zone; pressure to keep clients informed in a world of immediacy; and pressure to find and retain talent.
That’s something technology can help with, as younger talent typically demands technology that reflects the collaboration, automation and tracking tools that have become commonplace in daily life.
Technology is often the enabler for firms to fulfil their innovation goals. We have a saying at Actionstep: “changing software is easy, changing process is not”. When firms want to change the way they do things, they need systems to support behavioural change.
Recently, we’ve also seen the rise of ‘data-driven lawyers’. This has been accelerated by Covid-19, as people have had to rely more on electronic records, rather than face-to-face updates.
Legal teams now realise that inconsistencies and gaps in data lead to mistakes on documents, incomplete files, and skewed reporting – all things easily solved by discipline around capturing data. When legal teams focus on quality data, they spend less time getting lost in documents and drafting, and more time delivering great legal services for their clients.
We also see that immediacy and access are more important than ever for clients. Clients expect direct access to their lawyers. Corporate structures are falling away and clients see gatekeepers and support staff as barriers.
Innovation by iteration
Innovation can seem quite daunting. To develop an innovative mindset, you start with a narrow focus, as incremental step-changes lead to transformation. How do you pick your focus though? Listen to your clients – what are they telling you to improve? What process or activity is fundamental to that? Pick that. Try another way. Replicate and iterate. Trying to change everything at once leads to frustration and failure.
Get the best out of the tools you already have. Explore ways to use them more fully or in different ways. Listen to what younger lawyers are saying. They should be your ‘eyes and ears’ for how technology will change your practice in the future.
Professionals who don’t innovate will fall behind. Our core belief at Actionstep is that lawyers are awesome. Not because of how good they are at document turnaround or their legal knowledge – but the impact they have at key milestones in our business and personal lives. Lawyers need to be able to get their heads out of admin and repetitive tasks that make up the bulk of legal work today. Technology facilitates this emancipation – it takes care of data accuracy, document production, matter management and client processing – so that lawyers can focus on advisory, interpretation, breaking new ground on legal matters and, ultimately, doing great work for their clients.
