The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/230349
competitive intelligence. They deploy a more sophisticated analytical framework to cull through search results to deliver relevant information to each stakeholder within the organization, based on what they need to know. • Identify new business opportunities and develop business plans/backgrounders Mayer Brown recently refocused its business intelligence efforts, replacing the firm's news aggregator with a listening platform. "The filtering process is far superior to the aggregator. We now only need one contractor to assemble alerts for the client teams, rather than three or four," Elizabeth Kennedy added. "From the get-go, the source material is extremely on-point." The most intuitive of the listening platforms are attracting attorney users. David Borst, the Director of Business Development at Barnes & Thornburg, explained how practitioners at his firm adopted a listening platform. "We do a lot of business development coaching. To help our attorneys focus, we developed a target-based business development approach. Once the attorneys establish an opportunity, we conduct research to help them monitor industry trends and gain a better understanding of their clients' and prospects' businesses. Our listening platform provides accessible, actionable client data that's geared toward the legal industry. My message to attorneys is, in a nutshell, 'You are really busy, and you have a limited amount of time to do business development. This tool can help you make the most of that time.'" MAKE LISTENING A PRIORITY It might be thought of as a form of vertical searching for each discipline within the firm. Users set up parameters about what clients, industries, practice areas and other search parameters they want to follow. The application searches and analyzes legal and industry-specific news sources, blogs, Twitter feeds and other social media, and delivers only results that are relevant to the user, categorized in a manner that places the information in a clear context. A number of firms are now using listening platforms to: • Better understand clients' businesses • Generate content for blogs and client communications, such as alerts, newsletters and events Borst's message is being heard. "Through our listening platform, I set up a tracker for a former client," explained Bruce White, a partner in the firm's Chicago office. "It showed that they were acquiring a plant. I contacted my former client to congratulate him. The client was on his way to China at the time and asked how I heard about the acquisition. He was glad I called and said he needed my help on the project. I never would have gotten this work if not for the listening platform. Candidly, I see the listening platform as something that should be mandatory for partners — particularly the younger ones — if they want to have the business development information their Am Law 100 compatriots are already mining." Are you listening to your data? • Automate the aggregation and distribution of personalized information about clients, key practice areas and business opportunities • Optimize the use of proprietary content, which can be integrated with general searches and run through the listening platform's filtering mechanisms • Track legal industry trends, including lateral movements, firm mergers and office openings Peer to Peer 49