Acting on firm intelligence
As global law firms report their 2021 results, all signs point to another year of increases in both revenues and profit-per-partner. Whether to sustain growth or to avoid risks on the horizon, now is the perfect time for firms to invest in firm intelligence, including data about clients, matters, lawyers and third parties.
We’ve seen how legal businesses are already leading the way with firm intelligence and moving beyond simply aggregating data – they’re now acting on it. One global firm Litera has worked with uses data collected about past work to present practice insights and market analyses to clients; another AmLaw top-50 firm has created data models to identify cross-selling opportunities worth millions. Still others are using firm intelligence to differentiate themselves with an industry focus, expanding referral sources and cultivating contacts with tailored content and marketing campaigns.
Every firm is interested in leveraging data – and they have lots of it – but most struggle with systems that are siloed and inflexible. While there is no magic wand, firms that connect and collect firm and client intelligence using modern tools find many benefits. How can your firm start using data to greatest advantage? Consider these lessons learned from successful firm intelligence journeys.
Administrative teams should be able to configure, search, and report on data without vendor or IT involvement. Since these tools go beyond the operational and financial data in most data warehouses or lakes to focus on the practice of law, they must be flexible enough to accommodate changing practice and market needs
Define the destination. Data can support any firm strategy, so make sure the destination is clear. Is the firm pursuing an industry focus or client teams? In a war for talent? Seeking merger partners? Ensure firm members know the strategy and why you are pursuing it, then track and share progress against those objectives using tools built for that purpose.
Identify pain points. Convene a diverse group of firm professionals and discuss the data-points most critical to supporting the firm’s strategic and client plans. What client and matter data do practices and industry teams wish they had? Which operational data is too hard to find?? Does profitability tell us we are finding comparable matters and pricing wisely? Are multiple teams duplicating data? Expect to find plenty of pain points, but be assured, other firms have successfully overcome similar challenges with the assistance of firm intelligence platforms.
Find the right tools. Build a strong foundation using firm intelligence tools to connect data the firm already has with workflows that collect additional data. Look for a platform with a proven track record of success. Administrative teams should be able to configure, search, and report on data without vendor or IT involvement. Since these tools go beyond the operational and financial data in most data warehouses or lakes to focus on the practice of law, they must be flexible enough to accommodate changing practice and market needs.
Start small but think big. Find platforms that deliver multiple use cases the firm can implement over time to get more value from your investment. For example, once internal systems have been integrated, add external data feeds of litigation and client data. Over time, business development, knowledge management and pricing should all receive value.
Get governance right. Define which department and technology should originate, collect, and curate each major piece of data. Agree on the taxonomies the teams will use for industry, matter type and others. It’s helpful to ask which team relies on the data to be correct and complete – for example, finance systems are rarely effective at tagging clients by industry, because the data is not critical to sending bills or collecting revenue. A good firm intelligence tool should provide flexible options for data ownership.
Secure and share. With the right configuration, finance data integrated into your firm intelligence tool is still owned by finance, but available to authorised users with greater ease. Secretaries no longer make daily calls to finance, marketing has financials available without combining spreadsheets from multiple sources, and chief financial officers appreciate that this frees up the reports team for strategic projects.
Make other systems stronger. Once data is flowing into your firm intelligence platform, don’t forget the value of flowing the curated data out to enhance other tools. Create colourful visualisations to analyse practice data by connecting to PowerBI, feed updated biographies and experience to the firm website to eliminate duplicate data entry, and augment document search with matter data collected by firm intelligence workflows.
Finally, reap the rewards. Firms that use data to focus on what matters provide their lawyers with insights for both the practice and business of law. Firm intelligence used well increases the happiness of all firm professionals because it makes work feel less like work.
Better data helps law firms focus on what matters: delivering greater client value, working more efficiently, and executing on strategic objectives. As legal teams execute work, data facilitates the practice of law, helping identify similar work, analyse prior outcomes for early case assessment, and find the right resource to address an emerging area of law. With all these benefits, now is the time to take advantage of firm intelligence to deliver service excellence and support a trajectory of strong growth.
To find out more, visit: www.litera.com
