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26 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER POTPOURRI Word processors like Microso Word also track this metadata, and firms could use extensions to extract this data. Analyzing these records can tell firms how much time partners spend editing an associate's work and how much time associates typically spend redoing their own work. Aorneys who consistently need an unusual amount of back- and-forth to finalize assignments can be as disruptive to firm workflow as those who miss deadlines. Partners must set earlier deadlines for those associates' first dras and make sure they schedule enough of their own time to review them. Having objective data can also help firms diagnose communication issues or other problems causing associates to get work wrong on the first try. Hours Spent Per Assignment For tracking associate efficiency in terms of hours spent per assignment, firms can use data from their time-tracking soware. If associates code their work properly, firms can compare how much time it takes different associates to complete similar assignments. There are caveats to using this type of data — assignments with the same codes can vary in scope and complexity. But, particularly for larger firms generating bigger data sets, algorithms can increase the signal-to-noise ratio so it becomes possible to track trends in aorneys' efficiency over time and compare different aorneys' efficiency. This allows firms to determine whether capital investments are bearing fruit and also increases transparency, showing clients how those investments translate into beer value per billable hour. Knowing how much time associates need for each assignment also gives firms more predictability when offering clients alternative billing arrangements. The Power of Analytics The real potential of using analytics based on metrics that more closely reflect day-to-day aorney performance will come from seeing the otherwise invisible paerns that will emerge from the data. As it happens, Uber was market-testing a side-by-side view of carpooling and individual ride prices in the Washington, D.C. metro area at the same time as ILTACON 2016. For most trips in the area the cost-savings were not significant, but for routes like those passing by Reagan National Airport (near the ILTACON venue), the high probability of picking up an additional passenger allowed Uber to offer savings of as much as 80 percent, which was even cheaper than taking the Metro. This was the power of analytics at work. It is impossible to know what kind of dramatic opportunities the data will reveal for aorneys, but we know how to find them: by analyzing the fundamental day-to-day interactions between aorneys in ways that would have been impractical even a few years ago. ILTA Using Analytics To Boost Aorney Productivity ADAM MCDONELL Adam McDonell is the founder and President of Salladore, a software platform that streamlines assignment workflow and facilitates communication for attorneys at law firms and corporate legal departments. He can be contacted at adam@salladore.com.

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