Earlier this month HighQ had the pleasure of hosting a table at the SOLID event hosted by Baker McKenzie at their London office. A cohort of delegates including lawyers, general counsel, legal professionals, innovators and legal technologists gathered to listen to a series of ‘TED-style’ talks followed by round table discussions and thought sharing. Lots of different experiences and ideas were shared – here are our key takeaways from the event.
Transformation vs Innovation
Innovation is nothing without transformation. Technology vendors can look to build, develop and implement fantastic solutions but unless it genuinely transforms how people work and communicate with one another, it may not be adopted either fully or at all. Law firms and corporate legal teams must look to effect meaningful, systemic change by implementing technology. To transform is to completely reimagine client relationships and deliver value in such a way that people do not regress back to old ways of working.
First look to people and processes
Some delegates admitted to getting caught up in and carried away with the legal tech ‘hype’. One common lesson learnt was that before procuring and implementing any technology, first ensure current processes are efficient and that key stakeholders in the organisation are invested. Engaging those individuals, understanding what their pain points are and how new technology solutions can help to overcome those will ease the onboarding and implementation process.
Inject pace!
The power of process must be truly recognised – many delegates shared the view that a lot of legal work is routine, process driven and therefore can be commoditised. In order to do this effectively and thus inject pace, stakeholders must collaborate and be constantly hungry for change and improvement within the business. There was a lot of interest and emphasis on AI – what it can actually do and whether people genuinely understand its capabilities - or is it that in many cases workflows can satisfy many needs.
It was evident from the various talks and discussions throughout the day that this is an industry which is keen for progressive change and to learn how best to go about this.
