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A S K A L A W Y E R
For each issue of Peer to Peer, ILTA will post an open question in the ILTA Communities, where we
will ask the lawyers a question with a technical twist. For this inaugural question, we posit:
What does innovation mean to you?
I am on the more skeptical side of "innovation" (as I expect are most senior partners). While there is
a small place for "skunk works" style development, which finds solutions to problems no one knew
existed and bets on the one-in-a-million discovery, I expect that most firms would be better served
(and realize a greater return on their investment) by establishing a formal process for identifying
existing problems (of attorneys and clients) and developing solutions to those problems (whether
by developing new processes/systems or implementing established best practice applied to well-
established system). As a firm systematically addresses current needs, unanticipated discoveries
will likely be made and new skills will develop, establishing a fertile environment in which true
innovation can take root. A focus on "innovation" risks diverting resources from finding solutions to
real problems to imaginary ones.
Patrick Dundas
Associate
Schulte Roth & Zabel
New York, NY
To me innovation really breaks down into three things: can I do it better, can I do it faster, can I do
it cheaper? And of course the holy grail add on: does it make my day more fun? It's really easy to tag
loads of things as innovation, but are they – sometimes they make things harder, or more convoluted,
because it's just the movement of a human thing to a tech thing (you now, I could do something on
paper, and it's saved, but I get an app to do it but the app's not designed for offline use – that's not a
paper innovation!). Good innovation is sticky, you want to use it, or it's invisible, you don't know you're
using it, but somehow things are easier. Maybe innovation is like ducks: if it looks like a duck, and
quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
Vanessa Barnett
Consultant Solicitor
Keystone Law
London
Innovation means changing how we work so that every minute of time is even more valuable
than before. With true innovation, I seek collaborative technolo that improves teamwork and
coordination, facilitates uninterrupted productivity and mobility, and increases profitability by
driving down costs – all without sacrificing high security expectations.
Michele C.S. Lange, ESQ.
Vice President, Legal
Marketing, Workstorm
Chicago, IL
"Innovation" to me is a positive change resulting in objectives being met with greater efficiency,
effectiveness and/or profitability.
Brad Newman
Practice Innovation Manager /
Staff Attorney
Cooley LLP
San Francisco, CA
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