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When organizations invest in technology, they expect something in return. Common expectations in the legal industry include improving service delivery, making work processes more efficient and boosting staff productivity. Mitigating risk and creating a competitive advantage also top the list of anticipated outcomes.
While most firms and in-house legal departments have a good “feel” for if a technology they’ve implemented is providing benefits, few know exactly how much a particular solution saves them in actual time and money. Or better yet, whether that technology helps them grow revenue or make better bottom-line decisions.
To clear the air from the start, the legal industry is not always best known for its early adoption or widespread deployment of information technology. The sector prefers traditional processes and practices and relies on a lot of paper-based operations such as journals, books and handwritten letters. So, compared to some other sectors, the leap towards digitisation is even bigger.
In early June, I shared some thoughts about the challenges with the current IP prosecution process and how we need to move to the next level. A number of readers reached out to me and pointed out that I had articulated the business problems well, but they were left wanting more solutions.
That’s a fair criticism, and many of you who know me would expect me to say, ‘that depends.’
The friction-less IP prosecution process
Did you know that America’s IP is worth roughly $5.8 trillion dollars, more than the GDP of many countries? With that value comes a lot of risk associated with protecting these ideas and intellectual property. Dedicated IP firms and specialist IP practices within certain firms are increasingly looking to streamline processes and leverage technology to better manage and execute their clients patent and trademark applications, all of which involve working with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Here are some more statistics …
iManage, a document and email management provider, hosted its user conference in Brooklyn, New York, from May 3-4. More than 750 attendees, including CIOs, IT directors, application managers, and developers, registered to attend 40-plus educational sessions and three keynote presentations and review 24 partner exhibits, all conducted in the New York Marriot at the Brooklyn Bridge.
It’s not surprising that the legal sector represents a goldmine for hackers; it is a vital component of UK business and government infrastructure. Law firms don’t just handle highly sensitive IP, business critical and financial data for clients but also personally identifiable information (PII), making them a highly attractive target.
The 2018 CLOC U.S. Institute conference has quickly become one of the hottest tickets in the legal industry, having doubled its attendance each year since its 2016 debut in San Francisco. Consistently emphasizing messages of collaboration, integration and efficiency, the event brought together a diverse group of professionals from 700+ organizations and 37 countries at the Bellagio in Las Vegas earlier this week from April 22-25.
The Legal industry has reached a crossroads. Changes in the economy, client demands and technology are driving some of this change and the ability for firms to adapt to these changes may determine their survival. Clients are demanding lower costs, efficiency, increased security along with greater accountability.
In my own experience, I have seen some of these changes occurring gradually among our customers. Having worked in law firms for 25 years, I can remember the days when very few lawyers actually had computers.
A new survey of nearly 1,300 Chief Legal Officers (CLOs) in 48 countries, conducted by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), found that data breaches and the protection of corporate data is the fastest-growing area of concern among CLOs. Thirty-six percent of CLOs rated this issue as “extremely important” in the year ahead, compared with just 19 percent as recently as 2014.
The business benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are well proven across a range of industry sectors and these also apply to legal. Combining multiple silo'ed systems (for example, practice management, HR, time recording and so on) into one business platform with a single source of data delivers total firm management across client and matter management, billing, time recording, finance & accounting, business intelligence and talent management.
Despite the clear benefits of this approach, only a few of the largest law firms have taken the plunge to invest in this transformational technology.
The application of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) is triggered in response to a lawsuit, investigation or government action for prior workplace behaviour. This nine-step set of standards that guide the collection and organisation of electronically stored information is a reactive approach to risk management; it doesn't necessarily advance an organisation's ability to identify and reduce real financial, operational and reputational issues before they impact its bottom line.
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