Legal Technology Journal

A few years ago there was an advertising campaign for consumer electronics goods that featured the slogan ‘I want it – and I want it now!’ (admittedly this is also the title of a Chris de Burgh song, but we’ll gloss over that). The phrase does, however, neatly sum up the attitude many – if not most – lawyers still have towards technology.

After months (although, according to supplier folklore, this can sometimes run into years) of prevarication and nit-picking over price and contractual terms, the decision is finally taken to invest in some new technology – and then surprise and dismay is expressed when the chosen systems are not immediately available.

Now typically this is ascribed to failures in change management and the management of user expectations, because there are very few legal IT systems out there today that don’t require (a) implementation within a firm’s overall IT infrastructure, (b) integration with existing systems, and (c) user training. Even the roll-out of a humble digital dictation workflow system, which has been one of the great IT success stories of recent years, has implications for network payloads, involves integration with document, case and/or practice management systems, and requires some retraining if users hope to enjoy the benefits this technology has the potential to deliver.

However, there is a deeper issue here and that is the fact that, for all the talk we hear about using technology in a strategic way within modern law firms, most firms still seem to view IT as an afterthought.

Thus decisions are taken to implement IT projects without fully thinking through the implications for the people who are going to have to live and work with the new systems. Knowledge management is the classic example of this, with firms consistently underestimating how difficult, time-consuming and expensive it will be to populate their new systems with meaningful know-how. Similarly, undertakings relating to the delivery of services are frequently given to clients by people who have no appreciation of the IT consequences of trying to fulfil these promises.

Is there a solution? Well, the approach both manufacturing and service industries have taken for many years is to consider the broader IT issues from the outset. For example, for the past quarter of a century the financial services world has adopted a three-sided approach to new product development, with participation by actuaries/insurance specialists to cover the technical issues; by marketing/business development people to ensure this is the right product at the right time being pitched at the right audience; and by the IT people to ensure the product can be developed, delivered and supported both time and on budget.

Perhaps the way to bridge the gap between law firm managers and their IT operations is to start taking technology more seriously and recognising that as IT is now a pervasive part of the modern legal practice, it also needs to be an integral part of the management process.