P2P

16 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 While the initial implementation went smoothly, over the next several weeks we realized that attorneys weren't raising many questions or issues about Teams through our service desk. Because of our experience with change management and our planning process, we recognized this as a potential problem. We acted immediately by starting an outreach program to see if people had questions and to learn where we could help. Instead of waiting to hear about problems, we knew it was important to proactively engage with our litigation teams to get their feedback. This simple step helped them embrace what has turned out to be a successful new form of communication and collaboration for our litigation practice. Creating lasting change One clear lesson from the pandemic, then, is that firms that were already planning to digitalize their litigation workflows and were actively working on detailed business continuity plans before March 2020 were much better positioned to manage the transition to a remote work environment. These organizations were able to accelerate the adoption of new technologies and quickly overcome resistance to change. However, even the best-prepared firms may feel that they have been caught in a year-long fire drill, and lasting change can't happen when you are constantly putting out fires. Moving past the fire drill mentality will be a crucial next step as lawyers transition to post-pandemic workflows. Successful digital change is not simply a matter of embracing automation and advanced technologies. Creating lasting change requires a deliberate shift in mindset across the organization. Having appropriate tools is certainly important, but getting attorneys and staff to actually use them in their daily practice, and selecting the tools that will require less effort while demonstrably improving communication and workflows is what matters most. These objectives are a primary focus of our stakeholders' meetings. When lawyers see how smart technologies can eliminate multiple steps without imposing a steep learning curve, they are more likely to embrace those tools and systems. An important way to make that happen is to communicate with litigation teams about technology in terms of the workflows and processes they are already intimately familiar with. When we speak the language of our employees, new ideas and technology become less intimidating. Another way to move beyond fire-drill mode is to continue to look for better tools that firm management, attorneys, and support staff can use to communicate. While we have all grown to rely on email, it can be extremely inefficient, and its proliferation has led to increasing challenges with information governance. When team members have spent months or even years on matters, following email trails also becomes confusing and frustrating. Some case management and docketing "Lasting change can't happen when you are constantly putting out fires." F E A T U R E S

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