Legal Tech: Establishing, Collecting, and Analyzing Metrics for Success
Liza Pestillos‑Ocat
As legal tech vendors, we’re often asked, “What’s the ROI on your software?” Our response is familia(...)
Generative AI in litigation: Turning talk into transformation
Opus 2
In recent years, generative AI (GenAI) has captured the legal industry's attention, moving from buzz(...)
Digital transformation is now widespread – Amazon, Airbnb, online banking apps and even the move to autonomous cars are prime examples. Fundamentally, it is fuelled by client demand for a user experience that enables individuals to access and consume services/information, the way they want it, when they want it and from the device they want to use at any point in time. This is achieved by automating paper and other ad hoc business processes, thereby creating business efficiency and enhancing service to clients.
Time recording has always been a core process in the business of law. And, almost as long as there has been timekeeping technology, there have been predictions about the ‘death of billable hours and the need for time recording.’ With more firm clients demanding creative and especially predictive pricing strategies from their outside counsel, you might be quick to believe the hype that timekeeping technology is stale, antiquated and oh so passé.
Early in my career, I worked for a major insurer who faced legislative challenges in regards to the use of credit scoring in determining auto insurance rates. I was tasked to find software that would allow insurance brokers to contact their respective state legislators with messages that would influence the legislation. The project was intense; I had to search for software vendors, issue an RFP, evaluate responses, and arrange for demonstrations. Once a vendor was selected I knew we needed to negotiate a price, but what I did not expect was the internal request to build a business case to measure the return of investment of the technology. I scrambled to try to measure the benefits of the software, had to revise the business case multiple times, and although the technology purchase was eventually approved, that process of proving value extended the purchasing process by months.
For about 15 years it has been a standard practice among law firms to skip iterations of Desktop Operating Systems—go to Windows 7 from XP, for example, or from Windows 7 to 10. As a result, desktop deployments used to be projects slated for every few years. This model, however, is no longer sustainable. With a new update schedule and a less than forgiving end-of-support timeline, skipping versions will leave firms scrambling to test, pilot, and deploy updated builds in uncomfortably small windows.
Thomson Reuters Elite held a briefing in London recently to provide updates on the Elite Enterprise Business Management Solution, which consists, at its core, of 3E for financial management, MatterSphere for client and matter management, and Business Development Premier (BDP) for business development and CRM.
The session updated a sector-experienced and influential audience on the Elite cloud strategy, on investment in the lawyer-as-a-user experience, on core product roadmaps and on progress in selling the solutions to a wide variety of firms.
Modern law firms are hives of activity with many teams carrying out myriad functions to help the organization thrive. Underpinning this collaborative work in the modern office is technology.
Technology Managed Services is the practice of outsourcing the day-to-day management of workstations and laptops, servers, and computer networks.
Israel, a country known throughout the world as the "start-up nation", prides itself on the enormous number of inventions and innovations that it has produced over 69 years since its founding – despite challenges of geography, size and diplomacy. Israeli ingenuity has brought the world drip irrigation, cherry tomato, electric car grid, Disk-on-Key, PillCam, solar windows, space camera and much more.
Israel is also the land of lawyers, with the ratio of lawyers per population reaching world record level of 1:138, compared to 1:246 in the US. Ironically, a well-known phrase, according to which "the cobbler's shoes are never fixed", would be the most appropriate to describe the state of the Israeli legal industry's involvement in innovative legal technology, at least until recently.
Tikit has been investing a lot of time and money over the last couple of years in line with our vision of the future of legal IT. With the launch of our flagship time recording system, Carpe Diem, delivered from the Microsoft Azure cloud to the latest announcement of the choice of NetDocuments as Tikit’s preferred Document Management System provider, it is clear that this vision is underpinned by cloud technology.
While Tikit and its key partners are very optimistic about our collective future and the viability of a legal cloud (r)evolution, we must also be realistic about the joint challenge ahead and the fact that while many law firms are not ‘there’ yet, neither is the technology that necessitates a 100% cloud first/true cloud reality.
A successful migration of your document management system (DMS) not only avoids technical issues, but also improves the lives of the people who use it daily.
NetDocuments offers many features that make it an attractive option for law firms, but it has particular characteristics that must be taken into account. By being aware of the differences between NetDocuments and your current system, you can ensure a painless transition that accounts for the needs of everyone at your firm.
Embracing technology is key to success for IP law firms
Intellectual property law firms are experts in innovation. They prosecute patents and trademarks covering leading edge technologies that we all enjoy in the products we buy and the services we use. IP firms’ clients innovate to outperform competitors, to differentiate their products or services, and to simplify business practices for flexible and efficient operations. Furthermore, as global demographics evolve into digital natives, expectations are increasing for access to continuously available information.
Microsoft is eager to get customers to Windows 10. Part of this campaign involved pushing the new system automatically to many users’ home computers last year when it came out. Now Microsoft is subtly issuing limited compatibility requirements for new processors, meaning that your firm all but has to upgrade to Windows 10 if you are planning to buy new computers. This is important news for law firms, 90% of which are running Windows 7, according to a survey by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA).
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