Peer to Peer Magazine

27 WWW.ILTANET.ORG Underlying these criteria are clients' expectations for 24/7 responsiveness, challenging law firms to infuse existing client file and electronic content management procedures with speed, access to real-time information and greater collaboration. Internal Motivation for Modernization Emerging employee preferences for how, when and where they access client files, modern technology, internal cost pressures and antiquated processes also force law firms to rethink client file management. For instance, a handful of trends have intensified the need for greater maer mobility. Lawyers are making more lateral moves and taking their books of business with them, and workflows with support staff are changing. There has also been a significant increase in maers being transferred across law firms as clients change their legal service providers during the life of the maer. This requires the electronic client file to be complete and easily transferable on short notice. As external competition heats up, law firms must ensure that their staffs have access to best-of- breed tools and processes for client file management. The ability to collect, consolidate and transfer client files efficiently can lead to higher levels of both staff engagement and client satisfaction. But the fact that many law firms still depend on physical maer files and manual processes puts a tremendous strain on their agility. As U.S. firms continue to reduce their office space footprint and identify opportunities to minimize physical storage costs, moving to a centralized, electronic maer file management framework will be an imperative. Another critical factor pushing law firms to transform their client file management protocol is their own workforce. Lawyers expect to be able to work effectively from a variety of devices, whether connected to the internet or not. Users expect their experience According to HBR Consulting's 2016 Law Department Survey, the top criterion law departments use for selecting outside counsel is the prospective firm's level of client service, which encompasses factors such as transparency, ease of collaboration, responsiveness, operational efficiency and use of IT as a strategic function to improve the overall client experience. Together these forces serve as impetus for law firms to reevaluate their internal systems, processes and operations, focusing particularly on areas that have the potential not only to add value but also to mitigate client risks. One area that stands out in offering the potential to improve lawyer productivity and curtail risk is client file life cycle management. Firms that neglect this area are likely to lose market share as clients look to more nimble and secure providers. Clients Call for Improved Client File Management As law departments face mounting pressure to shrink costs and risk, corporate clients are evaluating the performance of their outside counsel and in many cases reallocating work away from traditional law firms entirely. According to ALM Intelligence research, more than half of law departments already use alternative service providers, including consulting firms and legal process outsourcing firms. Corporate clients are also enforcing stricter security requirements on outside counsel firms as part of the evaluation process. The overwhelming rise of corporate cyberaacks and high-profile data breaches has compelled many clients to mandate more stringent privacy and security requests to law firms. In the name of compliance, clients are specifying who can access their maer data and prescribing specific data breach protocols and disposition requirements for client- maer files. Updated Client File Management Practices Give Law Firms the Competitive Edge FEATURES Law firms face changing client perceptions about what constitutes high-value service, growing margin pressure and new forms of competition. In addition, corporate law departments are becoming increasingly discriminating in how much they invest in outside legal support. As external competition heats up, law firms must ensure that their staffs have access to best- of-breed tools and processes for client file management.

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