P2P

38 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 | W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 Data, Operations, and Optimizing the Practice of Law. With digitalization, the vast amounts of data that firms have collected can, should, and are being used to optimize law practices. Toward this end, law firm CFOs, COOs, Data Technologists, and practice heads have been focused on data analytics to assess past performance, resulting in endless dashboards on clients and matters, gross margins, billable rates, billable hours, fees per matter, fees per client, utilization by fee-earner, collections and so on. All toward getting a better grasp on business performance – that of the firm, its offices, its practices, and its lawyers. It is hopefully used to optimize efficiency, performance, and profitability – perhaps by moving underutilized professionals to busier business areas to maintain billing (and revenue stream) during slower cycles or utilizing this data to 'refocus' teams from going after low-margin matters or those with a low win rate toward higher-margin matters with higher win rates. Or analyze client matters to see the range of lawyers (and practices) engaged, to optimize or find 'like-clients' to do the same. Or analyzing data to track performance as it connects to a firm's strategic and business plans. All activities related to the business of law. If this data is outdated, incomplete, slow to be entered, inconsistent, or missing altogether, the analysis will be subpar, and the decisions based on it will be without relevance. This area – the business of law – is where AI and data collection are needed most. To avoid missteps, helping lawyers track the data related to their matters and performance should be at the forefront of a firm's data strategy. For efficiency, manual data entry must be replaced with automated, real-time systems. But that does not mean without input from a firm's lawyers. Automated data systems still need oversight by legal teams to ensure that what is input is current and correct. Once seamless, these systems lessen the time lawyers need to administrate formerly manually input data. At the same time, it increases their available time to practice law, manage existing clients, and cultivate new clients. Data, Marketing, and Client Relationships But while client matter data is crucial, data collected about the clients is even more so. This is where purposeful collaboration with the legal marketing teams, business development, client and account-based teams, and so forth, is key. Because it is within the marketing data collection and the marketing technology platforms that client insights and relationship data exist. You can put me on the record about the importance of customer relationship management, or CRM (call it what you want, but do not call it dead) integrated with marketing automation platforms. The CRM, or central F E A T U R E S "Automated data systems still need oversight by legal teams to ensure that what is input is current and correct."

• Cover