whitepaper | transforming today's legal practice for tomorrow

TRANSFORMING TODAY’S LEGAL PRACTICE FOR TOMORROW

Legal practitioners around the world are seeing rapid changes take place, not only in their own industry but also in those of their clients. To stay competitive and relevant firms, of any size and practice need to embrace ‘digital disruption’.

2

TRANSFORMING TODAY’S LEGAL PRACTICE FOR TOMORROW

Traditionally, the legal industry has been a high-cost, complex environment, but digital disruption is bringing about its metamorphosis into a simpler, more accessible and more affordable domain through harnessing the capabilities that technology offers.

So, how can legal firms start embracing change and better position themselves for tomorrow?

Whilst many firms are joining the digital transformation bandwagon, attempting to improve efficiency and save costs, it is important to understand that digital transformation is a dynamic activity that leverages technologies to bring far-reaching impact throughout an organisation primarily in three key areas – people, process and technology.

For a long time, most legal firms have been focusing on their ability and knowledge in serving clients’ needs, as well as building trusted client relationships. With today’s economy shifting, firms are becoming aware that harnessing the capability of digital technology allows them to be truly client-centric in a way that is critical to getting ahead of their competitors.

Technology evolution and changing client demands are no respecters of tradition. The complex and traditionally high-cost nature of legal advice mean these services are ripe for disruption.

While some firms remain resistant to change, new competitors are increasingly threatening the status quo across the legal sector. Yet for those firms who are willing to embrace the new dynamics, there are significant opportunities to deliver exceptional client experiences while preparing their firms for a more confident future.

CONFRONTING THE NEW CHALLENGES

Traditional firms face a two-sided battle – from clients and competitors.

On the one hand, clients are more sophisticated and price-sensitive; on the other, there are a raft of start-ups, as well as traditional competitors, applying increasing pressure on law firms. These new entrants are applying new business models to the provisioning of legal services and driving down costs significantly.

With an abundance of information now available online, many consumers are searching around for easily accessible legal services that address their issues and help self-diagnose their problems. While this may not be an appropriate course of action in all cases, there is a widespread perception of legal advice being expensive and many clients may find it difficult to see the value in traditional offerings.

Another factor that is encroaching on the business of traditional firms is the rise of the ‘gig-economy’, where organisations can engage with independent contractors for short-term assignments. This happens because online platforms are enabling more and more qualified legal people to operate outside the boundaries of a firm and provide advice online. Two good examples of this are Expert 360 and Lawyers on Demand.

All legal practitioners are affected by this disruptive trend; whether it is a small partnership seeing their client base shrink, or a medium-sized firm seeing a reduction in business because their clients have brought more of their legal operations in-house.

With the pace of change accelerating, taking ad hoc steps to update processes and technology platforms is not enough. Firms need a comprehensive approach to meet the disrupter on their doorstep.

Transforming today’s legal practice for tomorrow.

3

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE CLIENT-CENTRIC BUSINESS

Clients today are better informed and have higher expectations of their service providers. In an environment where much online information is available free or at low cost, clients want to see more value-add from their legal service provider.

This changing landscape means that legal firms must understand the new buying cycle and how technology could harness their new business model.

Faced with declining margins and threats to the ‘billable hour’, it’s imperative that firms become more agile and responsive not only to ‘external client’ demands, but also to the interests of ‘internal clients’.

A fundamental part of this transformation is to embrace technology solutions that will help improve productivity, control operating costs and assist the firm in gaining a competitive edge. Perhaps the employees are finding it difficult to keep up-to-date with the constant stream of technology changes? Or maybe there is limited IT support in-house? Any business leader would know the high cost that is associated with a fee-earner being sidelined for a day or even more dealing with IT admin.

Another challenging development is the trend among big companies to bring more of their legal practices in-house, thereby slowly changing the nature of work that firms are delivering to clients. In addition, legal functions like document reviews are being transformed through advances in artificial intelligence and other logic-based technology.

Another concern is if the practice has multiple IT suppliers but does not have a single view of operations, that can increase the risk of security gaps or other potential issues in the firm’s technology platforms.

Technology change may seem relentless, but day-to-day demands can hamper moves to increase efficiencies within the firm. Despite this, for some practices there may be a sense that business is steady enough to remove the imperative to change – but do not forget that disruptive trends are gathering momentum and can not be avoided.

DEMAND HAS NOT DISAPPEARED — IT HAS MOVED AND EXPANDED.So while incumbent firms may be seeing a drop in demand, this does not mean that the need for legal services has evaporated – it has just moved to different types of providers and business models. Of course, given the challenges faced by most organisations today in an increasingly complex and globalised market, the demand for legal services could be expected to keep rising.

Experiencing more interruptions because of IT issues.

New projects run into roadblocks as resources are allocated to business as usual processes.

You are experiencing a higher turnover of staff.

Your billable hours are shrinking and you need solutions that will get you ahead of the curve, fast.

You want to get closer to your clients and demonstrate value - but don’t know where to start.

Your firm is struggling to attract new talent.

You look at aspects of your business and a part of you admits, “I can’t believe we’re still doing it like that! Surely there’s a better way?”

You want to work smarter but existing processes are too entrenched.

Here are some factors, which indicate that tackling change can no longer be ignored:


4


TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR FIRM’S FUTURE

How can you transform your firm for tomorrow’s requirements and innovate?

There are two quick-win, elementary steps that firms can take on their transformation journey to change their work practices, processes and technology and provide a strong foundation for transformative endeavours:

1. Transform the hardware and software that your firm operate on

2. Transform the way that you manage and maintain technology within the firm

As a partner in your firm, you know that hardware and software underpin almost every aspect of your business – all your people are in non-stop contact with it; many of your processes are reliant on, or use it; and a huge proportion of the technology you employ in your firm is either computer hardware or software. It is ubiquitous through your organisation and as such, it is a rational target for disruptive transformation.

Despite this, you tend not to think of ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ as single, transformable entities. Rather you see a myriad of devices, applications, servers, support staff and operational processes that you’re going to have to attack individually. And that is a daunting prospect for any firm.

To extend services and capabilities firms can leverage cloud-based assets:

There is a good opportunity for firms to deliver their core infrastructure requirements through a managed cloud provider with a view to long-term cost savings and becoming a more dynamic, innovative organisation.

Adoption of cloud-based technology provides firms with the ability to meet and exceed challenging customer demands with an agile and scalable managed cloud service. For a legal firm, this solution provides peace of mind knowing that

enabling easier information access and accelerating data use for business processes.

automating the deployment or management of infrastructure based on increased security or scalability requirements.

Securing data to meet governance or regulatory requirements.

your day-to-day IT demands are being looked after.

PLANNING THE NEXT STEP

IT systems are increasingly complex but the decision process in adopting new technologies for your firm should be relatively straightforward. The following scenarios may be familiar:

You have several different legacy systems and hardware. If this is the situation in your firm you are likely to be spending more resources on IT than is necessary but are still experiencing inefficiencies.

You have limited IT resources in-house. You are probably spending more time than you would like on managing and coordinating various external providers.

You are aware that technology can change rapidly and sense that your firm may be lagging behind. Without a holistic strategy for your IT support systems, it’s difficult to know if you have the best technology for your needs or if you’re hugely overspending.

Access the latest technologies that will evolve with your partnership

Stay focused on your core business by removing the distractions of making complex IT decisions

Gain financial predictability by only paying for what you use, when you need it

Access to experienced, qualified IT professionals

Complement and enhance your risk management and security processes

There are many benefits of transitioning your current platforms to the cloud or by migrating to a managed IT delivery model:

The evidence is compelling but how do you choose a business partner that has the smarts to integrate your current IT systems and help ensure your firm stays competitive in today’s dynamic environment?

5

Nexon understands the challenges of today’s legal firms. We can help you interact with technology in new and better ways so you can provide excellent service to your clients and build a legal firm for the future.

To find out more about Nexon’s solutions, call us at 1300 800 000, email us at [email protected] or visit nexon.com.au

CONTACT US TODAY TO START UNLOCKING THE FUTURE OF YOUR FIRM.

A WAY FORWARD

Tomorrow’s legal firm has arrived. Practices, which embrace the new ways of working and are supported by the right technology, are more likely to:

• Evolve their business and grow their client base

• Have greater ability to innovate and respond to opportunities

• Attract talent and retain key employees

Nexon understands the challenges of today’s legal firms. We can help you interact with technology in new and better ways so you can provide excellent service to your clients and build a legal firm for the future. Nexon provides:

• the latest in collaboration and information-sharing technology so your firm can be more responsive

• best-in-class security solutions to safeguard your data

• managed IT services so you can focus more time on other initiatives.

At Nexon, we can help you transition to a cloud-based solution that will make your work practices more efficient - so you can serve your clients better. With our cutting-edge platforms you will gain greater insights into your clients’, and your employees will be able to access the same up-to-date information no matter where they are located and which devices they are using.

The Nexon Agile Business Cloud (ABC) is a dynamic, cloud based ICT infrastructure platform that will transform the way you manage, consume and deploy technology. Leveraging world-leading technology partners such as Cisco, NetApp and Microsoft, the ABC architecture will support and enhance your operations in line with your firm’s changing needs.

With a robust technology foundation in place that manages all your ‘business-as-usual’ requirements, you can more easily focus on new initiatives, processes and services that differentiate your firm in the marketplace. And your partners will be able to devote more of their time to higher-value, higher-margin client problem-solving, providing the basis for more sustainable revenue streams.

The future of your firm and access to new customers starts with transforming the way your people, your processes and your technology interact – so you can harness your firm’s full potential.

Confront the new challenges and opportunities and in doing so you’ll have taken control of your firm’s future.

While digital transformation is affecting different practices to varying extents, a common factor is that it’s about harnessing the potential of people, business processes and technology to better service clients and compete in the market.

Particularly for firms with limited resources, or those that want to “unburden” themselves from IT, a key step is consolidating their systems and migrating these to an integrated cloud-based solution managed by an external party.