Digital White Papers

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 66 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 ? 1. Integrated Being connected is the top tenet of the smart space concept. But establishing "connectedness" requires a lot of groundwork. By definition, the smart space is a singular place where people and technolo come together. So you need to find a platform that can provide that unified capability—offering centralized access to decentralized IT systems, data and tools while being the hub where everyone who needs to be involved (whether they are inside or outside your organization) works, collaborates, shares and communicates. 2. Simplified For a smart space to be adopted and used, the experience must be intuitive, useful and appealing. Every feature that people need must be easily accessible from the hub. Very little training, if any, should be needed. The main reason for silos is that people use technologies that are familiar to them when there are not better alternatives or they get frustrated with a particular tool. Simplifying the way people work and communicate—and offering the right functionality—in one place is key to delivering a legal smart space. 3. Functional I mentioned this in the previous requirement, but a legal smart space must be useful and functional. The point is to work more efficiently, intelligently and productively. You can't accomplish that goal with a space that's visually appealing like a brochure but that doesn't offer a range of productivity functions like task management, collaboration, content management, messaging, file sharing, end result a smart space, it certainly met the criteria for being one. Openness? Yes, the entire process was transparent—it had to be in order to meet a very tight deadline. Connectedness? Of course. They integrated multiple technologies and dispersed resources across the world into a seamless, unified framework. Coordination? Absolutely. Hitting the fast deadlines requires impeccable legal project management and communication. Intelligence? Check. A major aspect of the transaction was triaging contracts and quickly uncovering and understanding the data inside them. Scope? Affirmative. The team crafted a focused solution specifically for this project to deliver the most efficient and effective service possible. While most of the hubs, solutions, sites, applications or portals that law firms or in-house teams are building might not venture into all five dimensions of a smart space, they certainly qualify as a place where people are working more intelligently together. And does it really matter when the result is improved efficiency, complete transparency and successful outcomes? The ideal legal smart space As with most trends, technolo or otherwise, some unique conditions must exist before they're applicable to the legal industry. So I've outlined six (not five) core requirements for creating a legal smart space— an attempt to remove the science fiction from the conversation, because the facts are far more compelling. Being connected is the top tenet of the smart space concept. But establishing "connectedness" requires a lot of groundwork.

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