Digital White Papers

ILTA WHITE PAPER: JUNE 2014 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 7 Often when vetting solutions, establishing workflows and setting strategic directions for litigation and practice support departments within a law firm, decision-makers want to know what peer firms are doing. This is an understandable query and an important data point. However, it is a mistake to "cut and paste" solutions from other firms without first performing a serious internal evaluation. WHAT TO EVALUATE Some of the key factors to consider in your internal evaluation include: Size of the Law Firm: This is not simply how many attorneys exist in the firm or where the firm ranks in the Am Law 100. Determining your size requires knowing the mix of attorneys in practice areas that will avail themselves of litigation or practice support services. • What is the ratio of support staff to attorneys? • What is the geographic spread of all users and what differences, if any, are there from region to region? Answers to these questions will drive technical solutions and infrastructure decisions as well as personnel deployments. Primary Practice Areas: • In what types of matters is the law firm primarily engaged? • Are there any practice areas that have special or unique requirements? For example, a U.S.- based firm specializing in U.S. patent litigation is going to have different requirements from an international firm specializing in FCPA matters. Defining the firm's practice portfolio will inform what solutions and workflows are most important and effective. Law Firm Governance Structure: • What is the reporting structure for the group? • What level of "buy in" is there from law firm administration for budgets, training, expansion of services and the investment of time and effort to maintain services? • Is the relationship and distinction between legal assistants and litigation/practice support personnel clear? • Is the relationship and distinction between the helpdesk and litigation/practice support personnel clear? Examining how things are currently structured can help you make adjustments to workflows and communications. A SOCRATIC NEEDS ANALYSIS

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