Peer to Peer Magazine

24 be integrated to easily access digital files and case documentation? Can common templates that the firm uses all the time be placed in a workspace so they are easily accessible? Start with a pilot program and focus on internal and external use. Consider starting a collaboration deployment with an internal pilot team, then expanding across the firm and client base. Use the collaboration features, such as survey and videoconferencing tools, to have regular file reviews and keep key clients informed. Identify a champion and encourage power users. Make use of collaboration champions to spread the word and persuade co-workers to join the platform. Share real-world scenarios so that all members in the firm see how communication flows inside the organization between colleagues and outside the organization with clients. Challenge current staff to increase their efficiency rates and become power users on the system. Monitor and promote adoption. Ensure capabilities for setting administrative controls in the system, as well as the ability to monitor use, employee adoption and ongoing data security and compliance. How one firm is piloting a collaboration platform "Our attorneys and legal professionals live in their email," explained a partner at a medium-size law firm. "Their inboxes are bursting with items that probably don't need to be sent through email." This partner and her practice group of six recently engaged in a pilot program to use a collaboration platform built specifically for law firms. The practice group was looking for ways to be more productive as a team and eliminate the informal meetings constantly taking place between one or two people on the team, with decisions needing to then be cascaded to the rest of the team. All six team members – one partner, three associates, one paralegal and one law clerk – work on all matters, and now, instead of constantly huddling to have "status checks," the team can use dedicated workspaces for each case to bring all members of the practice group up to speed. The members of the group start and end their days in the collaboration platform. Each individual in the firm organizes his or her conversations into private and team workspaces. The practice group partner can easily send all members of the team a message about a specific case or provide edits on a draft brief to only an individual associate. Most importantly, the burden of email is decreasing, being replaced by activity streams that are easy to follow in real time. The practice group also now has a record of decisions made and progress items on its cases, which before lived in disparate email boxes or notepads. The practice group is also in the process of adding a seventh member to the team, a paralegal who is based in one of the firm's out-of-state offices. Now, it will be more important than ever to avoid "hallway huddles" to make sure this new team member stays connected. In fact, the team is most excited about the ease of videoconferencing in the collaboration platform, so that one-on-one or as a group, they can speak face-to-face even though their group is spread out across multiple offices. Since email is still a critical part of how the firm communicates with clients, the pilot team found that they don't need to leave the collaboration platform to send or read emails. Email is right there as an integral part. Lastly, when someone steps out for lunch or leaves the office for the day, the mobile collaboration app indicates when he or she has a new message. For this medium-size firm, the collaboration tool is starting to become the backbone for all communications, and the firm is planning to roll the system out companywide in the coming months. As this firm has experienced, collaboration platforms are poised to become the sole digital location for work within a law firm. For contemporary law practices, improved teamwork and coordination, empowered by cutting-edge technolo, are the pathway to success. Staying up to speed with the innovation in legal communication and collaboration will help your law firm stay competitive in a shifting legal landscape. ILTA Staying up to speed with the innovation in legal communication and collaboration will help your law firm stay competitive in a shifting legal landscape.

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