Digital White Papers

I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | T E C H S O L U T I O N S 17 increasingly apparent. The aim now is that KM lawyers should become the living connective tissue between technolo, people, and firm culture. So the unspoken, tacit, end-goal of their activity becomes that KM lawyers should help to catalyze an underswell of cultural change in the firm. How KM lawyers influence law firm culture It is clearly a gross oversimplification to suggest that there are two types of law firm. Anyone who has worked in the sector knows that each firm has its own unique character and culture. It is nevertheless possible to identify two defining, ruling philosophies among firms, accompanied by two contrasting attitudes to the firm's future. Taking our cue from the Legal Executive Institute's 2018 Dynamic Law Firms Study, we can call one type of firm "dynamic" and the other "static". Dynamic firms are characterized by higher margins, greater revenue, quicker growth, easier recruitment, a more rapid adoption of innovations, fewer mental health issues, and less churn. These firms are more profitable and productive and attract (and retain) better talent. Meanwhile, the hallmark of static firms is this: the partners' principal focus is on maintaining the status quo. Consequently, these firms are stagnating. Generally, the lives of lawyers in static firms are more difficult because no one cares about making them easier. Such firms therefore experience poorer retention, difficulties with recruiting high caliber talent across all departments, lower morale, higher costs, slimmer margins, and lower revenue. As client pressure on fees and emerging competition make the legal sector more competitive than ever, it has now become critical that firms make every effort to put themselves in the dynamic camp rather than the static one. Because of their role and responsibilities, and the qualities it takes to be successful in the job, Innovation and KM lawyers can be highly instrumental in morphing firms towards a more dynamic, modern, collaborative, and tech-embracing mode. They can affect a degree of cultural change within firms, which helps dynamic firms become ever more progressive, while those firms that lack this resource will remain largely static and find themselves falling further behind. The takeaway is that law firms— to a significant extent—can steer their cultures towards dynamism, foster innovation, encourage efficiency, and maximize profitability by employing and empowering KM lawyers. The impact of Innovation and KM lawyers beyond Big Law In addition, the recognition of the critical influence of Innovation and KM lawyers presents an "They can affect a degree of cultural change within firms, which helps dynamic firms become ever more progressive."

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