P2P

Spring2020

Peer to Peer: ILTA's Quarterly Magazine

Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/1227987

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 68 of 94

69 I L T A N E T . O R G I 'm new to the legal industry but not to technolo. I've seen lots of customers in multiple sectors digitally transforming their business. They've used technolo to transform their business by doing things differently and becoming more efficient. The right technolo can even help a business to function more profitably. But when it comes to digital transformation, isn't legal just the same as every other sector? The answer to this surprised me based on my takeaways from the recent ILTACON Europe 2019. For those unfamiliar, ILTA is a peer-to-peer, volunteer-led association aiming to educate and connect people who work in the legal sector. Although they have a strong focus on technolo, they provide support to law firms as well as corporate and government legal departments of all sizes and all areas of practice with members in North and South America, Asia and Europe. For me, I wanted to take advantage of a 4½-hour workshop for people who were 'New to Legal,' covering the practice, business and technologies of law. In his session on the second day of the conference, Robert Grimsey from Harvey Nash presented the findings of the CIO survey they conducted with KPMG. Here are the points I certainly identified with: • Technolo is enabling transformation in every industry sector • It's happening regardless of size or age of the organization • Whether you want to save or make money, technolo is an enabler (and often a differentiator) Most people can recognize the business benefits of digital, but what's driving the pace of change? Our personal experience of technolo, especially on mobile devices, is influencing our expectations of business software. As consumers, we're even getting used to receiving OS updates every 6 months and security patches monthly. But in business, technolo can't change things by itself: only people change things. So why are organizations in some sectors slower than others in adopting technolo? Often, it's the people and internal politics that are the main barriers to change. It's not about getting the right technolo but getting everyone in the organization to use it. Plus, any change needs to be driven from the top. Does the legal profession have anything that makes them a little bit different? The legal sector has undergone huge changes over the last 30 years, and the pace of change is accelerating, especially over the last five years. Bruce Braude, the CTO at Deloitte Legal, outlined the General Counsel's perspective, highlighting the deregulation of legal services, changing workforce models, business complexity and increased regulation as catalysts for change. Also, law firms are no longer only owned by lawyers. The increased involvement of business-minded people brings in new investors who are willing to share the risks as well as the rewards. Clients' expectations are also changing. They're asking firms to simplify the delivery model and work for a fixed fee rather than charge an hourly rate. Let's start by taking a closer look at the use of technology in legal The technolo used in many legal teams is often old and outdated. The move from physical to digital material

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of P2P - Spring2020