Matthew Stringer,
Chief Experience Officer, Stridon
With a little critical thinking, today’s law firm leaders can leverage technology to transform their business – and elevate the workforce experience.
The accelerated pace of change brought about by the pandemic has created a significant shift in how business gets done – and firms have certainly taken notice. In pursuit of structured innovation, the new report - Frontiers 2022 from Briefing Legal reveals that investing in automation technologies – and the productivity gains it brings – is now a core priority for senior law firm stakeholders.
Delivering more with less will be key to securing a sustainable future, and getting legal work done more efficiently (65%) and optimising internal operations (67%) were cited as the top two drivers for integrating new automation technologies that will deliver competitive advantage.
But how do law firm leaders ensure they leverage new automation capabilities in the best possible way? ‘Thinking beyond tomorrow’ is key to enabling digital transformation. And when it comes to business automation, applying some out of the box thinking can unlock significant opportunities. The big question, however, is what happens to all the time that’s generated by automation efficiencies?
Use time more creatively to transform a culture
Giving lawyers more time to work in areas they are passionate about will prove valuable when it comes to boosting employee engagement, wellbeing and productivity. However, taking time out to consider what happens to all those hours saved represents a significant opportunity that goes far beyond simply adding billable hours to the bottom line.
This could prove transformative when it comes to the workplace experience, culture and capabilities of the business. For example, there is using ‘time back’ to encourage practice groups to brainstorm new revenue streams, or identify new ways of working that will unlock greater efficiencies for clients – actions that will generate lasting loyalty and higher revenue and profits.
Make more of what’s there
When it comes to working smarter and more effectively, firms need to maximise the impact of existing technology investments – like current collaboration tools – or leverage data from their CRM systems to generate more value and service revenue.
By applying lateral thinking to the challenge of mining more data, and how that data is put to work, they can gain new insights that will be vital for building the long-term resilience and agility that are key to law in the 21st century.
Today’s firms are eager to take advantage of new tools that will enable them to better showcase their proposition, stay ahead of competitors and generate efficiencies that help them manage costs while meeting fast-evolving client expectations, Those that can most effectively embed new technology – with people at the centre of strategy – will be best positioned for future success.
This commentary supported the latest research from @BriefingLegal - Frontiers 2022 that centres on the intersection between available technology and the biggest strategic questions of the day - where is the greatest potential for supporting firms to thrive – in terms of efficiency, competitiveness, or indeed human engagement?
You can read the full research paper here.
Read more:
Legal Firms: Why People have to be at the centre of Digital Transformation
Securing the Modern Law Firm
Putting People at the Centre of Tech Innovation: What Law Firm Leaders Need to Know
A new Chapter of Change for Law Firms
