The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
• Law departments migrating their U.S. implementations to Europe based solely on U.S. law department process and procedure — Ignoring the processes and procedures of their European counterparts may also be ignoring the likelihood that those developed because of European or local legal or administrative requirements, thus causing legal or regulatory conflicts. • European law departments migrating their technology to the U.S. — This can result in over-engineering the implementation, making the technology burdensome and minimizing its usefulness and effectiveness. In addition to these examples, adoption of legal technology to serve the global law department is frequently hampered by a simple lack of understanding about the extent to which technical capabilities differ globally. While U.S. law departments may well be ahead of many of their European counterparts, many European law firms are ahead of their U.S. counterparts. While, for example, both the LEDES (Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard) and UTBMS (Uniform Task Based Management System) have come a long way in addressing differences, these U.S.-formed standards must continue to evolve as market conditions dictate and as we learn more. This will require increased participation from non-U.S. law departments and firms. Vendors that develop and implement these technologies must evolve as well. While they have come a long way in making their products fit for purposes outside of the U.S., a great deal remains to be done. While there are signs that non-U.S. vendors are beginning to develop offerings for the corporate legal market, more non-U.S. vendor participation would be helpful not only in increasing uptake, but in helping to educate and inform global law departments. While law department technology consultancies have begun to focus attention outside of the U.S., more growth is needed. The gap between technology implementation and change management initiatives must be closed. Consultancies are best prepared, if not positioned, to fill this gap, meet the demand and thus assist the expansion of law departments globally. Law departments do not choose where they serve; they serve at the pleasure of the business, and where the business grows so must the law department. As business becomes increasingly global so must the law department. ILTA To learn more about the LEDES Oversight Committee, go to http://www.ledes.org. Survey: Effects of Globalization on Law Still Taking Shape Although globalization has already exerted significant changes on corporate law departments, lawyers recently surveyed said they expect it to continue reshaping the practice of transitional law for years to come. Lawyers were asked, “Which one of the following will have the biggest impact on the practice of law in the next five years?” Their responses: Electronic Discovery Globalization/international expansion Demographic shifts Corporate and regulatory issues Privacy/security issues Other Don’t know Refused 25% 23% 17% 17% 8% 1% 8% 1% Source: Survey of 300 attorneys from the largest law firms and corporations in the United States and Canada. The survey was commissioned by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Jeff Hodge is a Consultant in the Law Department Services practice of Hildebrandt Baker Robbins. He is a champion for the internationalization of legal electronic business technologies, including legal electronic invoicing, spend management, matter management and secure electronic document exchange. An industry veteran with over two decades of experience, Jeff’s leadership has been instrumental to introducing the concepts of e-invoicing and legal spend management to corporate law departments worldwide. He can be reached at jhodge@hbrconsulting.com. Peer to Peer the quarterly magazine of ILTA 123