ILTA - International Legal Technology Association

Helping Attorneys Overcome Mindset that Technology is Just a Support Function

How can we articulate the value of technology in helping meeting client expectations and improving the bottom line? In this session, the speakers discussed this and more.

Questions Glenn will ask the speakers:
 

-There is a  perception by some attorneys that technology is a cost of business and, specifically, only a support function. Where do you think this stems from?

-Based on this perception, each of you have likely identified strategies to convince attorney and leaders that technology is more than simply a cost of doing business. What strategies have you employed or seen others employed to convince attorneys of the benefit of technology?

-The best made plans, particularly for a junior leader, may look great on paper but suddenly become challenging when put to practice.  Throughout your career, what obstacles have you faced when employing these strategies?  Are there any risks?  Have any backfired?

-For new C-suite or director level leaders, what would you encourage them to do to advocate for technology projects particular in light of the current economy? How do you  recommend they approach business value/ROI when proposing technology?

-To help with your persuasion, do you engage with client teams such as their legal department) to better understand their business needs?

- We’ve touched on a few of the key stakeholders but there are certainly more.  Do you find that you need to approach stakeholders in different ways when convincing them of a technology’s value?

- Can you share any examples of where technology clearly helped the bottom line?

-Any final thoughts?

Moderator:
@Glenn Hoxie -Senior Project Manager, Practice Innovation, Paul Hastings LLP

Speakers:
@Leslie Brown - Director of Client Value, Blank Rome LLP
@Paul Unger -  Partner, Affinity Consulting
@Jacqueline Schafer - CEO, Clearbrief
@Brendan Miller - Legal Innovation Professional and Attorney” (previously Director of Practice Systems & Innovation for AmLaw 100 firm

Recorded on 05-11-2023

The Scourge of the ”Non-Attorney” Heading

Overwhelmingly, law firms operate as though attorneys are the ""important"" parts of their business, and that business staff is... well, chopped liver. How can firms adjust/improve their language to change this attitude/perception?

Questions Harriet asked the speakers:
• The landscape for hiring and recruiting within law firms has changed a lot since January 2020 (and again since the end of 2022). What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry/in convos with peers? What surprised everyone the most about how recruiting/hiring has changed in the legal field? (I’m thinking first year associate pay has got to be a big one!)
• What are your predictions for how things will stay the same/change in law firm operations over the next 5-10 years? Do you think attorneys will fundamentally change their expectations around work-life balance? And how are firm resources being marketed to attorneys during their recruiting process (as part of the support package)? (i.e. research departments, LPM, etc)
• Let’s talk a bit about the split in law firms between attorneys and “everyone else”… what have you seen across the industry, and do you think those divisions are breaking down, becoming more defined, or something else? I’m also interested in how you think this will play out as the market retracts again: it’s been popular to cut back on administrative staffing in times of financial concern, but that loads more work back onto attorneys—do you see anything differently happening this time around?

Moderator:

@Harriet Joubert-Vaklyes -  Senior Project Manager - Legal Operations, CBRE Group 

 

Speakers:

@Jennifer Bluestein - Chief Talent and HR Officer, Perkins Coie
@Chris Boyd - Chief Operating Officer, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

 

 

Recorded on 04-07-2023

Legal Tech: What’s Next?

As more players enter the legal technology market, what trends and advances should we be keeping an eye on? What trends or tools have the potential to radically disrupt the profession? In this podcast interview, the speakers will discuss this and much more!

 

Questions Jennifer asked the speakers: 

1.        What will be the most important legal technology trend for lawyers and legal professionals to follow in 2023?
2.        What trends or tools have the potential to radically disrupt the profession?
3.        Where should law firms and law departments focus their legal tech budgets in the next year? Three years?
4.        How will legal technology impact client engagement?

Moderator:
@Jennifer Mendez - Sr. Director  of Knowledge Management Innovation, Fisher Phillips

Speakers:
Joe Borstein - Chief Executive Officer, LexFusion
Casey Flaherty - Chief Strategy Officer, LexFusion 


Recorded on 04-05-2023

How Add-On Services Are Changing the Legal Landscape

Law firms are increasingly expanding their scope and advertising "add-on" services. How can attorneys make use of these to make themselves "stickier" to clients, and how can law firms promote these services in a way that conveys their increased importance to the overall client experience? In this podcast interview, the speakers discussed this and more. 

 

Questions Harriet will asked the speakers:

• Tell us a bit about the evolution of NRF’s Legal Operations department: what was the intended purpose, and how does it interact with the larger business?

• How can attorneys make use of this group (or others within the firm) to make themselves "stickier" to clients? 

• How is (or can) the firm promote these services in a way that conveys their increased importance to the overall client experience?

Moderator:

@Harriet Joubert-Vaklyes - Senior Project Manager - Legal Operations, CBRE Group 

 

Speakers:

@Al Hounsell - Director - Strategic Innovation and Legal Design, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada 

Kathy Goodman - Practice Innovation & Knowledge Counsel, Paul Hastings (London)

 

Recorded on 04-05-2023

How Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Are Changing the Face of Search

Enterprise search, targeted search, predictive search, conceptual search...so many options, but which is the right one for your organization? Will advances in AI change how we search going forward? Will we see Alexa or Siri for legal?

Questions Jennifer used to guide the conversation:

• We often hear about various search options in legaltech - enterprise search, predictive search, conceptual search, just to name a few. How has search evolved in the legal industry over the last decade? 
• How will advances in artificial intelligence change the way we search in law firms and legal departments?
• Will we see voice search, similar to Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, in legal? If so, what are the ethical implications of relying on voice-enabled technologies? 
• What does the future of search look like?
• The legal industry is notorious for its unhurried approach to change. How do you see the change management and adoption process of these technologies playing out in legal? What outside factors do you think will drive law firm adoption?
  
  

Moderator:
@Jennifer Mendez - Sr. Director of Knowledge Management Innovation, Fisher Phillips

Speaker:
@Pablo Arredondo - Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Casetext

 

Recorded on 03-15-2023

Improve Staffing with Technology: Case Study on Development of a Staffing Tool

This podcast consists of an interview with Melissa Prince on how Ballard created and implemented a staffing (“workforce allocation” or “availability projection”) tool. We also discussed the impetus for the creation of the platform, the obstacles Melissa faced, and how she has driven engagement with associates and partners.

Questions Kristin asked Melissa:
1. Can you provide a little background about your role at the firm and your practice management department? Who handles staffing?
2. First, what did you identify as gaps in the staffing process that led to the development of your tool?
3. At the outset, who were your champions and where were your obstacles?
4. How did you decide to build something in-house as opposed to going to a third party vendor?
5. What are the primary features of your tool and what aspects are you still looking to build out?
6. Who references and utilizes the reports?
7. How are you continuing to drive engagement with the tool? Any ongoing challenges?

Moderator:
@Kristin Rhodes - Senior Practice Manager, Paul Hastings LLP

Speaker:
​@Melissa Prince - Chief Client Value and Innovation Officer, Ballard Spahr

Recorded on 10-07-2022

Attorney Task Management: Beyond LPM

We've seen an increasing number of requests for help around task management that go beyond traditional legal project management tools. Associates wants to see everything assigned to them, and be able to manage it without partners seeing how they're doing so. Partners want to see tasks they’ve assigned across clients and matters. The problem seems like one that should be easily solved with technology, but when you dig into the issues, you realize that no one has a good solution. What is getting in the way of delivering a task management solution that works for attorneys?

Questions Holly will be asking Floor:
1. Firms have tried using a lot of different technologies to help associates manage their tasks and give partners insight into status, but most of these efforts haven’t been successful. Why is this so difficult to solve?
2. Oftentimes, when we hear from attorneys on this topic, the conversation starts with them saying “I want this technology”, but we know that if a technology could solve the issue we wouldn’t be having this conversation. How can we have a more productive conversation with our attorneys, not just on this topic, but generally?
3. The term ‘innovation’ gets used a lot, but again, it often seems to be used when discussing technological solutions. What would be a better way of having a conversation about innovation?

Moderator: 
@Holly Hanna - KM Firm Solutions Manager, Perkins Coie

Speaker:
@Floor Blindenbach -Founder & CEO, Organizing4Innovation

Recorded on 09-23-2022

​​

Connecting the Dots - People, Process, Tech

In today’s world, purchasing technology is no longer a sure fire way to solve a business problem. In addition to the right technology you need to have the right people, following the right process and leveraging the right technology to solve the complex business problems law firms are facing. But how do you connect these three concepts within your organizations? Listen to this discussion with Rachel Shields Williams from Sidley Austin and Debbie Foster from Affinity Consulting Group.

Questions Rachel will ask Debbie:
· What is the secret to connecting people, process and technology in today’s modern law firm.
· Is there one part of the “People, Process, and Technology” that leaders should focus on more? Or do you see people focus one more than the other?
· Common pit falls when trying to connect the dots?
· What is one piece of advice that you would give to anyone trying to connect the dots?

Moderator:
@Rachel Shields Williams - Director, Knowledge Management, Sidley Austin LLP

Speaker:
@Debbie Foster - Partner, Affinity Consulting Group

Recorded on 09-19-2022

Data Hygiene and Upkeep: How Do We Know if We’re Doing it Right? How Can We Use ”Dark” Data to Drive Business Decisions?

In this podcast, the speakers discuss using data appropriately in the legal sphere, and thinking creatively about what various data sources within your firm or organization can tell you.

Questions Harriet will ask the speakers:
· Big picture: How do we make sure data is useable, accessible/findable, and consistent across departments?
· On the topic of so-called “dark” data: what are some uses cases from other industries that we should think about applying to the legal industry? In other words, how can we mine data that’s already being collected and make better/new use of it?
· What are some ways in which we can convince groups to share their data for the greater good? How can we get buy-in from the average partner/shareholder to share their data across the firm, to ultimately enable trend-spotting and proactive action, rather than simply using data to tell retrospective stories?

Moderator:
@Harriet Joubert-Vaklyes - Process Innovation Senior Specialist, Shearman & Sterling LLP

Speakers:
@Lisa Gardner - Director of Data Analytics, Shearman & Sterling
@Paul Giedraitis - Principal, Axiom Consulting Partners/Orgaimi

Recorded on 09-13-2022

Marketing and IT: How a Communicative Relationship can Yield Valuable Results

Technology is changing how firms operate and there is a need for more collaboration between the marketing and technology teams to achieve shared goals.

In this collaborative podcast between the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) and the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), four seasoned marketing and technology experts discuss their organizational structures, the importance of establishing effective and open communication processes between departments, and share stories in which these efforts resulted in successful projects.  

After listening to this 30-minute podcast, you will learn practical tips on how to work together effectively and take away examples that can be implemented for your own success.

Both ILTA and LMA recognize that collaboration can only add value and aim to continue this discussion with additional content through the rest of 2022. Keep an eye out, share this podcast with a colleague and let us know what think!

Recorded July 2022

Speakers: 
@Ali Shahidi
@Britton Choi
@Erin Meszaros
@Michelle Woodyear

​Moderated By:
@Tara Patterson