Re-purposing law

I

t feels fair to say that, as we head into the long dark of winter, hoping to emerge on the other side of 2022 with new beginnings centre stage, there are plenty of equally urgent priorities on the minds of business leaders. Somewhere near the top of the agenda, however, must surely be global uncertainty and the difficult outlook for the economy. Law firm leaders would therefore be well within their rights to focus current efforts on productivity, revenue, billing matters and winning and retaining work above all else. Axel Koelsch takes a look at maximising such matters in his piece on revenue per lawyer – check it out.

Programmes that do not immediately promise a return on investment might seem like tempting targets for firms looking to rein in costs and re-focus energy towards more profitable areas. Yet, if this month’s cover story is anything to go by, priorities around individual wellbeing or benefitting society at large – be they social mobility, diversity and inclusion, sustainability initiatives or pro bono work, as examples – should not be de-prioritised. If firms are to build up foundations for longer-term success, what might broadly be called ESG (environmental, social and governance) matters have now become pressing issues for the legal sector, with the ongoing war for talent, along with client and employee expectations around wellbeing and hybrid working flexibly all now intimately connected with ‘purpose’ and social impact.

And, speaking of hybrid working, have you felt more disconnected, or out of the loop recently? Read Ian Rodwell’s column this month to learn why.

There’s plenty more to take a look at in this edition, including a look at the importance of defining vision and purpose by David Ward, and Phil Muller at Williams Lea examines the importance of authenticity in devising ESG initiatives. We also hear from Jon Roscow at FileTrail, who implores legal to get rid of that backlog of old documents, and David Huston at DLA Piper walks us through the process of building a centre of excellence to push innovation and automation initiatives forwards.

Briefing editor Josh Adcock also speaks to Francesca Turquet, recently appointed partner at Evershed Sutherland’s alternative legal service provider Konexo, who explains, along with her colleague and head of client development David Saunders, how the alternative has become the mainstream – at least from the point of view of many GCs.

And we have a wealth of additional insight in the form of industry analyses too, including Chris Giles at LegalRM, who takes a look at handling matter mobility in an increasingly hot market, and Kerri Dearing at NetDocuments outlines the ideal for document automation. Plus, Lauren Watson at Legl discusses the impacts of current macroeconomics for law firms, Paul Foster at sa.global takes a look at tackling the ongoing talent crunch, and Thomson Reuters explains the potential for developing an ESG virtuous circle.

And we also have interviews with Phil Bindley at Intercity Technology on ensuring successful cloud migrations; Arran Braganza at Jalubro examines ways of getting an accurate picture of digital sustainability; Sabine Heine-Bickle at Kyocera Document Solutions UK outlines the business’s ESG initiatives; and leaders at law firm Cripps discuss the development of a new transaction management and document automation solution, in partnership with Peppermint Technology.

• Get Briefing November 2022 via our app on Android
• Get Briefing November 2022 via our app on iOS
• Read Briefing November 2022 on your web browser

IMPACT MATTERS

Where should law firms focus their ESG efforts, and how can they leverage connections across sectors to demonstrate to people, clients and the world at large they add material value to society? Josh Adcock asks legal business leaders how they plan to make a positive impact.

A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE

When law firm Cripps realised its profitable property management practice was in need of a process upgrade, the firm looked to its existing technology provider for a solution. Innovation manager Rob Tyler and partner Ben Johnston outline the ways Peppermint Technology helped guide the firm towards a better reporting and document automation solution.

BUILDING A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

Automation promises huge potential benefits to law firms – but knowing where, how and what to automate is as complex as the systems themselves. David Huston, head of operational excellence at DLA Piper, explains how the firm embedded digital innovation through its collaborative Centre of Excellence approach.