8 Ways to Convince Your Organization to Invest in Legal Technology – Artificial Lawyer

By CreateiQ, Linklaters.

All law firms and in-house legal functions know that legal technology is the future. Law is fundamentally about information – laws, precedents, documents – and therefore data. Apply technology to data to manage it effectively and you’ll give yourself and your customers an edge.

But what technology? And once you find a solution, how do you convince your organization to adopt it?

We tackled it head on CreateiQand in particular to look for ways to help our prospective customers manage the onboarding process of their wider organization once they have identified us as their preferred solution.

After talking to three people from legal operations at Linklaters, we came up with these 8 tips to help you get internal support for legal technology initiatives.

The way to success

Look for early wins. This means identifying a problem that is easy to solve – and there are many examples. Once people realize the technology works, they will be more amenable to trying more. Build the drumbeat of success and help people see that their time investment is truly worth it.

But don’t put the cart before the horse, ie. don’t think about what you want to happen before you’ve put the right processes in place to make sure the problem is solved. This includes training, project management and IT support, all supported by good communication so that people are well informed and therefore more responsive.

Here are 8 insider tips to help you with internal buy-in:

1. Build a business case. Be fully prepared to articulate the benefits to the company or customers and the impact on the bottom line. More simply, ask yourself, “Why would I want to invest in this?” Emphasize how the product can make their life better.
2. Tell what benefits the tool brings. In your messages, state what problem the product solves for either the client, the attorney, or both. People don’t care what the product is called, they need to know what it can do. Lead with YOU, not US in communications. Make the customer the center of the story with the technology around them.
3. Start with easy examples. Choose something easy to understand and easy to solve to convince users of the benefits. Then you are in a better position to expand it to include wider applications. So, for example, say, “Here’s a tool that automates the patching of intellectual property agreements and flags key issues.” Once it is shown to work, you can move on to the next solution. People don’t want a universal wrench that solves everything.
4. Introduce technology early. Give people a chance to work with the product early. It may not work perfectly, but they can get used to it and feel comfortable with the technology and also with the idea of ​​working with subsequent improvements.
5. Identify a champion. Find someone on both the legal team and legal technical operations to advocate for the product. There is nothing like someone who is positive to help overcome the doubts of others.
6. Set success criteria. Measure what counts as successful technology adoption. Set some goals that will incentivize people to get involved. The people offering it should also be willing to invest some time in the pilot process to help build a strong case and convince people who aren’t already sold on the product.
7. Expect some resistance. Lawyers have been successfully doing things the same way for a long time. They will need time and patience to get used to any new software, which will require explanation and training. Choose your time carefully when you offer them to try the new technology so they are likely to be most receptive.
8. Keep technology current. Make sure the product continues to evolve and keep up with what the business is trying to do. Ask yourself, “Does it still work for what we want to do?” Maintain close contact with the vendor to ensure changes are delivered effectively.