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(...)
In the beginning things were simple. Law firms used the Henry Ford approach to mobile devices, "You can have any color as long as it's black." There was one model BlackBerry on one service provider and you had to justify your worth to have the device. The device did one thing and it did it well. The law firm paid for the device and the data service. Things progressed to multiple BlackBerry models on multiple carriers with both voice and data services. Options for who paid what and what was reimbursed started to appear. Additional applications and features converged to make smart phones. Companies like Good came along to muddy the waters. Then this guy named Steve Jobs had some revolutionary visions on how mobile technology should work. More and more piled on and today we have a consumer revolution called BYOD.
Well it’s that time of year again, a time when TV is full of reviews of 2012. Also a time when blogs review predictions from last year and look forward to 2013 in a hope that they can look back next year and say “I told you so”! Who am I to buck the trend, so let’s take a look at what I had last year as key Legal IT technologies in 2012.
First I had was Speech Recognition. Well to be honest Siri continues to be a gimmick and this technology in Legal still isn’t making the significant inroads I thought it might. I am still convinced it will make waves in law firms for a couple of reasons.
It is that time of year again: time to look back and reflect while also looking forward and make predictions. Legal IT Professionals asked David McNamara, managing director of SOS, to give his reflections on 2012 and to make some predictions for 2013.
Joanna Goodman meets Teri Hawksworth, managing director of Thomson Reuters Sweet & Maxwell
Teri Hawksworth officially took over as managing director of Thomson Reuters Sweet & Maxwell in July, although she has been in the role on an interim basis since January. Responsible for some 650 staff in the UK, she is one of the new breed of business leaders with roots in sales and marketing as opposed to finance, and focuses sharply on the needs of Thomson Reuters customers. In the legal sector this means law firms, barristers, in-house, academic institutions and public sector legal departments - and market entrants such as Cooperative Legal Services, which use Thomson Reuters Elite practice management system.
I’ve been using Windows 8 for sometime now and I thought I’d put up a post touching on my initial love hate relationship with the new OS and why I can now see this OS for what it is and where I think it could fit into law firms.
I found in the end that the easiest way to understand Windows 8 is to understand the whole “Desktop” vs “App” thing, once you understand this it makes the perfect sense when to stay Windows 7, when to go Windows 8 and also the whole RT version vs the non RT versions on tablets becomes clear!
In a time when full-scale attacks and small scrimmages were the rules of the day, it was vital for a medieval castle defense system to take all possibilities into account. Law firms would do well to follow this model. Just as castles in medieval times protected themselves with rings of defenses-the moat, outer wall, internal wall, and the last place of refuge, the tower-law firms today need to build rings of defenses that give them multiple opportunities to prevent harm if their firewall gets breached.
Fast and efficient document capture technologies can significantly speed-up distribution of essential documents and in some cases contribute to a reduction in case handling times. Here, Capital Capture managing director Mark Kirpalani explores the business-wide advantages of digital case management
In an industry where time really does come at a premium, the ability to efficiently manage case workloads and their raft of associated documentation is extremely valuable. For this reason, many firms in the legal sector are beginning to realise the strong potential that a digital case management solution can offer, particularly in streamlining fee earners' workflows.
Paul Caris CIO at Eversheds is a legal IT pioneer, having famously been the first to roll out iPads across the firm in 2010. Now Caris and his team are applying the latest technology to transform working practices across the firm. Cutting-edge technology - and out-of-the-box thinking - is supporting and driving collaboration, client service and innovation. Joanna Goodman reports from Eversheds Legal Studio, at the firm's London headquarters.
Open plan and mobile working
Eversheds Legal Studio is über hot-desking. Lawyers at all levels in the firm work together in a huge open plan office that is divided into areas designed for individuals and groups.
It started with a tweet from Jason Plant and a response from me. Then Ben Schorr joined in. There were a few others who got involved as well. We were chatting about the use of mobile devices and the way some law firms have deployed them. Some firms have connected the devices first and are now attempting to deal the with policy, procedure and security issues. I added the hashtag #bassackwards to somewhat summarize the conversation. Policy, procedure and security issues should always be addressed first. It is the responsibility of the CIO to say "no" or "wait" until those critical steps have been hashed out.
Click here to download the free Legal Technology Observer (LTO) Time Capsule PDF, a compilation of the entire 6-week series of expert essays that attracted over 20,000 readers!
The Alternative Legal IT Conference, produced by LexisNexis for mid-sized law firms, was my first experience of a legal IT two-day country hotel conference and it was a highly civilised and well-organised event. When I looked at the programme, I was immediately interested in hearing the keynote speeches from legal services market entrants.
After several years of the same people making similar (albeit polished) presentations at various Legal IT events year after year, a few progressive event organisers have been booking speakers from outside the industry whose appeal lies in the fact that they are potentially thought provoking. Their presentations focus on a single theme: the future of legal IT.
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