The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/271291
PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 20 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, ANYWHERE name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sameer Hilal company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vCom Solutions website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vcomsolutions.com Legal IT professionals have full plates. They're managing everything from infrastructure and applications to security and mobility as efficiently as possible and on the go. With limited time and resources, any effort to sift through data to identify ways to optimize their environment becomes a monumental challenge. Not to mention, there is increased pressure to make business decisions and take actions regarding the firm's network environment within shorter time frames. As service providers, firms need to be meticulous about putting information at the customers' fingertips — when and where they need it. Making information user-specific and easily attainable across different platforms, at the office and on varied mobile platforms will help address the need for efficiency and the challenge of accessibility. Firms should also provide customers actionable business intelligence in the form of a simple dashboard. This reduces the time needed to implement improvement measures and provides the ability to drill down quickly into reports for more granular supporting data.. LEASE TECHNOLOGY TO STAY CURRENT name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott McFetters company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CoreTech Leasing website . . . . . . . . .www.coretechleasing.com There's unprecedented competition for law firms to both gain new business and retain current clients. Technology plays a vital role in every aspect of a firm's competitive advantage, so the importance of IT service to lawyers and staff and firm service to clients collapses into equally vital importance. Leasing is a financial vehicle to keep the firm and its attorneys competitive and current for any IT requests that might be required or make the difference in keeping or establishing a new client relationship. Leasing delivers this by providing a monthly expense versus a total cost purchase for the firm. This allows the firm's IT department to proceed with projects outside the company's current budget or move future projects forward in anticipation of additional budget approval in an upcoming period — all the while reducing the risk of ownership. On the attorney side, leasing allows IT to refresh tablets, laptops and PCs at regular intervals, keeping equipment up to date and the attorneys and staff more productive and efficient. Law firms should expect the role of technology as well as technology change cycles to increase. Steps that can break through internal drag and increase decision cycles are vital to success. CONDUCT A NEEDS ASSESSMENT name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Aurit company Savvy Training & Consulting website . . . . www.savvytraining.com Great customer service often involves resolving a problem or issue quickly. But before jumping into problem-solving mode, it is crucial that everyone involved conduct a thorough needs assessment. Without stepping back and determining why the client has come to the firm, or why the attorney has approached the training department, a lot of energy and effort may be expended solving the wrong problem. Needs assessment involves asking questions, much like the steps a good journalist would perform. Asking "Why?" is the single most important step when trying to determine how to help. Of course, who, what, when, where and how are relevant, but their specific relevance will not be clear until "why" is discovered. Learn to be a question-asker in order to be a good problem-solver. It's not rude… it's efficient and relevant. COMMUNICATE NEEDS AND BENCHMARKS name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiffany Stedman company . . . . . . . . . . . . Olenick & Associates website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.olenick.com Both client and service provider satisfaction increases when there are meaningful benchmarks shared between the parties. Seemingly simple, this component of a client-provider relationship can be overlooked. Success sometimes means more than finishing on time and under budget. In fact, knowing the measure of success for a project could help a provider make minor, but previously unimagined, improvements to the process. In the testing world, pass or fail outcomes are the norm, and they provide definitive results. Such clear outcomes are not as easy for business decisions. For example, sometimes a faster processing system or automated testing could save time for users, but at what point does the cost of increased speed outweigh the usefulness of the time savings? In answering these questions, two-way communication is key. In an ideal situation, a client is upfront about the company's needs and values allowing a service provider to tailor their services to those values. This approach builds trust and satisfaction on both sides.