publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/518940
ILTA WHITE PAPER: MAY 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 32 TALK THE TALK TO GAIN PROFESSIONAL MOBILITY increasing value of human capital will be in an individual's ability to consult on the complexities related to their areas of expertise, thereby increasing the performance of the team that surrounds them. The following techniques, practices, approaches and self-reflections aim to give legal technology professionals practical ways to organize their thoughts, rehearse their communication and ultimately improve their intrinsic value, while also accelerating their professional and financial mobility. DON'T DUMB IT DOWN To be seen as an expert in legal technology, talk like you're an expert. Rarely does the defensibility of legal matters, specifically as it relates to the use of technology on those matters, boil down to something basic enough for a novice to understand. Legal technology — especially litigation support and e-discovery — is complex and requires increasingly demanding degrees of consultation and explanation prior to and during execution. While there is great value in being able to talk broadly about your skills and suggestions, superior consultants in legal technology know how to eloquently articulate nuance, detail and minutiae. Demonstrating expertise is always about specificity. What is the size and scope of the legal technology infrastructure you support? • Number of attorneys, end users and offices • Different practice groups supported • Global/international support experience (understand unicode?) • Internal infrastructure, external managed resources What is the size and scope of the cases you support? • Number of users in review platform • Size of cases (GBs, documents, review attorneys), largest and smallest case size • Number of cases supported at one time • Timeline for cases • Data hosted internally or externally • Brand names of tools used and level of proficiency How is your time allocated? • Client/attorney-facing versus technology-facing • Collections vs. processing vs. hosting vs. review vs. production vs. trial support • Consulting with the end corporate client • Tasks on which your time was billable • Managing people vs. managing case work • Managing up vs. managing down DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS Knowing how to articulate the specifics begins with knowing what details to articulate. Below is a checklist of details clients and potential employers want to know from legal technology professionals at any level of their career and in various areas of discipline. This checklist is a great way to re-evaluate your existing resume. Does your resume answer these questions? If not, it might be time to rethink and rewrite. What management experience do you have? • Number of people you manage • Kinds of people you manage • Milestones of success for the team • Profit and loss responsibility • Variable growth metrics, year-over-year metrics related to staffing, caseload and profits For legal sales professionals, what are your year-over- year metrics for past three years? • Quota • Revenue • Percent of quota achieved or exceeded • Base compensation • Total compensation • Average deal size (in dollars) • Average deal length from intro to close • Transactional vs. contractual (aka project-based vs. software sales/managed service agreement) • Customer base (Am Law vs. corporate vs. channel vs. federal) • Repeat recurring vs. net new • Average number of core accounts For technicians, what programming languages do you know? What hardware, software and customer service experience do you have?