P2P

49 I L T A N E T . O R G C orporate clients rely on outside counsel for legal expertise. Many clients also assume that counsel will select and implement the best processes that are needed to achieve the best legal outcome. How a case should be handled logistically was historically not a conversation that would come up between client and attorney, since for so long the practice of law included established and reliable workflows. New and improved case management processes have emerged, however, largely due to advances in legal technology. The result is the industry has identified new workflows and processes that lead to better outcomes. Despite these improvements, not all legal practitioners have embraced these new and effective workflows. There are many reasons for the lack of adoption (e.g., philosophical differences, the "old way still works" mentality), but it is also clear that these improved processes, which typically reduce attorney labor and shorten timelines, are at odds with historical legal counsel business models. Regardless of the reasons, a gap sometimes exists between client and attorney expectations around process management. A new kind of dialogue and collaboration between attorneys and clients has emerged in order to address this expectation gap. Sometimes the dialogue is articulated explicitly and sometimes it is implicit or unspoken, but the meaning is becoming clearer: "Make effective use of technologies during the legal process; otherwise you will miss out on the opportunity to work with us in the future." This is a big shift and has led to a new kind of collaboration between client and attorney in which both parties are now focused on more effective workflows, reduced effort, and better legal outcomes. Along the way, the industry is also becoming more mature and sophisticated. It is discovering that creative uses of eDiscovery t e c h n o l o g y — p a r t i c u l a r l y advanced technologies like AI and data analytics—can open new doors and lead to more meaningful and productive collaboration between clients and their attorneys. The embrace of technology reflects a broader trend in which corporate clients are laser-focused on getting more value from firms and service providers at a lower cost. According to the 2021 EY Law Survey, conducted in collaboration with the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, legal department workloads are expected to rise by 25% by 2025. Nearly 90% of general counsel said they were planning to reduce the overall cost of their legal functions over the next three years, driven by pressure from their CEO and boards. GCs have seen what technology can do in other areas of their organizations and how vendors are using technology creatively to improve collaboration and efficiency; they now expect similar benefits from their law firms. "A gap sometimes exists between client and attorney expectations around process management."

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