The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/480238
PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 40 CAREER NAVIGATION Now that we know some things about the lay of the future, we can navigate through a career plan. Think big picture. Use broad strokes in painting your long-range plans. For example, imagine "transformatronics" or another fancy technology is sweeping the industry, and experts in that are making a killing. However, in 10 or 15 years' time, that technology will be stale, or gone, swallowed up in the tsunami of change. Rather than tying your career to a particular technology, kick your thinking up a level and become an expert in a class of problems technology solves. A particular technology might wither, but the problems are likely to remain. Instead of being thought of as an expert in, say, SQL, aim to be the authority on how data flows through the enterprise. Data will continue to flow many generations after SQL has been supplanted by something else. Move to the center. Every business has peripheral operations and core operations. In a business climate of rapid change and high competitive pressures, the peripheral operations get pared, but core operations survive. Move toward the core. This advice is not department-specific. I'm not saying head for HR or accounting. Rather, I'm saying understand how your business works, decide what components are essential and gravitate toward those. Affect the bottom line. Map the path between what you do and the bottom line. How does what you do impact your firm's or your company's revenue? How can you increase your impact on that top line? How does what you do impact the costs of operation? What can you do to minimize those? Many of you will meet these questions with a blank stare. You might not understand what impact your activities have on profitability. If that's the case, make it your business to understand how your business works. And then help. Find new ways in what you do to make a revenue difference. Find interesting new ways to contain costs. It's almost always possible to make a difference in these two business fundamentals. And one more thing — when it's between maximizing revenue and minimizing cost, go with revenue if you can. It's the first order of business. Choose nimbleness over size. There will still be elephants in the future of law, but they better be able to dance. In times of rapid change, nimbleness is more important than strength. In thinking about what departments, firms or companies you want to work for, move toward those that have demonstrated some nimbleness. Decide how good they are at recognizing and responding to change, and then go with the ones that are best at it. Chances are they will stick around. Educate yourself continually. In a highly dynamic business environment, knowledge is transitory. Unless you continue to educate yourself, your skills become stale and you are less able to remain helpful and productive. So continue to learn. Does that mean you should get an MBA? Well, maybe. For some jobs, the analytical skills taught in an MBA curriculum are indispensable. However, most don't require it. Instead, what's more valuable is to continue to expose yourself to thinkers at the front edge of the game. You can find those in books, seminars, webinars, etc. What's most important is that you form an intention to stay current and then act on that intention. Seek knowledge, and then try to apply it in your work. Don't just rack up degrees. Look for knowledge you can apply in your job tomorrow, and then use it. MORE ADVICE FOR THE FUTURE In 2014, ILTA published its forward-looking Legal Technology Future Horizons report, and the input from experts pointed to rapidly shifting careers, both among the lawyer population and the many professionals who support the business. Firms need to prepare for radical changes in staffing profiles, recruitment, retention, graduate education and continuous development. To address changing client demands and respond to strategic imperatives, firms have to invest in and unleash the transformational potential of IT; and to ensure the technology function delivers on expectations, firms need to demand and invest in "best in class" IT leadership. FEATURES There will be more law in the future and perhaps more need for advice. If you like the law as an area of endeavor, stick around.