Digital White Papers

LPS19

publication of the International Legal Technology Association

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I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | L I T I G A T I O N A N D P R A C T I C E S U P P O R T 65 S M A R T S P A C E S : T H E N E X T F R O N T I E R F O R L E G A L T E C H ? technolo-enabled systems interact in increasingly open, connected, coordinated and intelligent ecosystems. Essentially, smart spaces are developing as individual technologies emerge from silos to work together to create a collaborative and interactive environment." The example they give is a smart city or intelligent urban ecosystem, where people and technolo work together to create a more socially collaborative community. Like most tech trends, early discussions focus on the more "imaginative" use cases instead of the functional. Robot lawyers that can do anything and everything are a great illustration. Legal AI started out as science fiction but is now seen as a tool that eliminates ordinary, time-consuming manual tasks like reading through thousands of documents in search of a critical clause. It's totally understandable, by the way. But law firms and in-house legal departments alike need tangible, practical innovations that help them cut costs, improve service delivery, add value and save time—right now. Smart spaces just may be the tech (not droids) you're looking for. Smart spaces and legal places Regardless of where people fit within the legal industry, how they engage with others outside of their role or function determines whether they're going to be successful. While working collaboratively has always been a necessity, efficiency, transparency and agility have often been left out of the equation. As expectations have shifted in recent years, firms and organizations have looked to technolo to add these in-demand qualities to their service delivery. Firms are trying to eliminate silos. In-house departments are working to improve engagement with the business. It's a circuitous route to my ultimate point—the legal world has been pioneering smart spaces without knowing it. From virtual data rooms, deal rooms and file sharing to extranets, intranets and portals, legal organizations have been using various technologies to bring different groups of people together for a few years now. They've also invested in document management and collaboration tools. They've implemented project management and workflow software. The aim? Improve collaboration, streamline legal processes, enhance transparency and more. Smart spaces? I think so. Gartner adds that "smart spaces are evolving along five key dimensions: openness, connectedness, coordination, intelligence and scope." If you look at what CMS (a top-tier global law firm with more than 70 offices worldwide) has recently developed and delivered with an approach they call CMS Mix, it's hard to argue that they're not just creating smart spaces—they're defining what legal smart spaces can be. CMS Mix identifies the right people, processes and technolo to solve a particular issue for a client. They also have a dedicated Tech Tools team that has been organized as part of CMS by Design, the firm's integrated group of specialists who help turn innovation into practice. When CMS worked for a client completing a $1 billion acquisition, they essentially built a smart space using a combination of technologies and efficient resourcing to speed up a complex contract review and deal management process across multiple jurisdictions. While they didn't specifically call the While working collaboratively has always been a necessity, efficiency, transparency and agility have often been left out of the equation.

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