P2P

8 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 2 O ur summer content is so timely and necessary – with the drastic changes we have experienced, businesses, including law firms, are finding it necessary to engage in a continuous process improvement mode given global policies and tech environment. Collaboration has been a permanent topic in legal discussions– the unicorn seen as the solution to all problems. The challenge remains that the question of how best to communicate and "getting on the same page" remain an elusive dream for many. In reality, collaboration is just the method of working across a team of people easier with better results. For some reason, in the past collaboration initiatives I have seen have fallen victim to the ideal of 'perfect' when engaging to have a better solution results in ultimate success. Many times in working with case teams, they hit a wall on contemplating and designing the technology when they really just need to begin with a good plan, albeit an imperfect one. Barriers come in many flavors and are always there for those that wish to see them. In the legal services industry the requirements for the strategic, confidential, secure and controlled exchange of information has often been an insurmountable obstacle. What we have learned in the past 18 months is that the necessity is not only the mother of invention, but innovation. The geographic barriers that were beginning to diminish in early 2020 were almost obliterated by the dynamic adoption that remote work provided. Many law firms were mired in traditional models - working full-time in an office setting, for example - that opened up opportunities when they were forced to adapt to remote work. All business was channeled into continuous process improvement as changes were implemented and then fine-tuned. The opportunity to plan – test - pilot – (finally!) implement quickly morphed to an implement-and= adapt mentality that could have provided real growth opportunities. The "where" of performing the work became a focus on delivering the quality services regardless of the team members' locations. This change was swift, decisive and so unlike the decision-making processes of legal services industry. What the disruption of business on a global scale taught legal is perhaps that there is not a technology panacea that will magically enable collaboration. I often see situations where the search for a solution stops at a perceived brick wall of technology – technologists know the answer is to automate a process is not to rely on the technology for the process, but rather see technology as a solution that automates methods. When firms had to implement change How Legal Collaboration Must (and I would dare to say) Evolve F R O M T H E P U B L I C A T I O N S L I A I S O N B Y C I N D Y M A C B E A N

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