Take on the System Transformation in Legal Is Not for the Faint-Hearted – but Do Firms Have a New Breed of Business Technology Within Their Grasp?
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March 2019 BriefingSMARTER LEGAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT INNOVATION GAME KNOWING BETTER CONSULT WITH CARE Tony Williams at Jomati assesses the The global knowledge team at Hogan Lovells Catherine Allen at Bevan Brittan on latest addition to the law firm C-suite starts a new strategic chapter putting lawyers on the risk register Take on the system Transformation in legal is not for the faint-hearted – but do firms have a new breed of business technology within their grasp? ISSN 2398-9769 Issue sponsors: Editor’s letter Who we are… y the time that you’ve hungrily devoured this Richard Brent is the editor of issue reader, Briefing will have held its first Briefing. He likes to get out big conference of the year, Strategic Leaders and meet as many of you as B possible, so contact him at 2019 (hey, perhaps I’ll have been delighted to [email protected] have seen you there). Kayli Olson is Briefing's Among much else on the packed agenda, we’ll have assistant editor. She finds what now looks like a very timely focus indeed on stories and data. Care to contribute? Contact her at: whether law firms should give some serious thought to [email protected] the business of listing. With DWF finally confirming that Josh Adcock is Briefing's it’ll be going public this year, will this be the one to turn a editorial assistant. He trickle into a torrent of transformation? sometimes brainstorms, but mostly hums a lot. Contact: One pretty good rationale for raising all of that lovely [email protected] cash in a law firm is, of course, to invest in further Jem Sandhu is Briefing’s operational change – ideally for the better. Our annual features writer. She Legal IT landscapes report, for example, has long interviews, and crafts crystal- clear copy. Contact her at: highlighted a fairly meagre reported [email protected] With DWF finally average IT spend as a percentage of Chris Cardon is Briefing's confirming that it’ll revenue. And that’s in spite of a legal client services executive, tech marketplace that seems to declare responsible for managing all our supplier insight. Contact: be going public this a new use for machine-learning or [email protected] year, will this be the analytics software on every corner. Rupert Collins-White is one to turn a trickle We cover a lot of technology topics in editor-in-chief of Briefing and creative director at Burlington into a torrent of Briefing, but it’s not every month that Media. Contact: transformation? IT makes the headline of the cover [email protected] feature (p12). However, as one major software solution changes hands in early 2019, and with lots of other big purchasing decisions to be made elsewhere, this issue we’re asking Talk to us about the difference an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution makes, or might make, to your wider Briefing on Twitter @Briefinglegal strategy. We know that firms are investing considerable Email us your thoughts time and energy in project management programmes and [email protected] people to try to deliver their work more efficiently for Find all our back issues online clients and more profitably for partners. Might www.briefing.co.uk technology be the missing piece of the puzzle? Write us a letter (remember those?) Then, in our team profile (p16) – this time it’s the Briefing magazine Burlington Media Group knowledge management leaders over at Hogan Lovells 20 Mortlake High St – we ask whether tech is poised to transform work there. London SW14 8JN DX 36356 East Sheen Sorry, no spoilers to see here. Thanks, as ever, to our issue sponsors – and we’ve three this month: SAGlobal, Thomson Reuters Elite and This month’s interviews were all transcribed by: Fulcrum Global Technologies. Be sure to read their – and many other industry perspectives – from p23. RICHARD BRENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 3 Tweet us @Briefinglegal Briefing MARCH 2019 3E guides your firm to a future without limitations. Gain the strategic visibility to embrace change fearlessly. Arrange a demo today at elite.com/3E © 2017 Thomson Reuters S048590/6-17 S048590_szB.indd 1 6/7/17 12:01 PM CONTENTS Inside this month March 2019 BriefingSMARTER LEGAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT INNOVATION GAME KNOWING BETTER CONSULT WITH CARE Tony Williams at Jomati assesses the The knowledge management team at Catherine Allen at Bevan Brittan on 16 latest addition to the law firm C-suite Hogan Lovells start a new strategic chapter putting lawyers on the risk register Know with the flow Take on the system Transformation in legal is frequently not for the faint-hearted – but do “Guard against firms have a new breed of business technology within their grasp? rushing to a tech solution before the Briefing is the only legal business management title, problem is and is focused exclusively on explored.” improving the work and worlds of law firm management Katja Ullrich-North, leaders. Every issue is packed global head of knowledge with relevant insight and management, Hogan Lovells lessons from peers and pros. Paul Jenkins at UPFRONT FEATURES INDUSTRY VIEWS 38 HFW on Roundup New The big idea Stephen James implementing change 06 European footings, 12 Is legal business 24 and Whit McIsaac alongside Pinnacle Brexit contingency planning ready to take advantage of of SAGlobal on welcoming underway, and taking that another type of underlying the power of LexisOne Jason Skidmore startup incubation strategy system? 40 at 3 Step IT on global Jim Godman at sustainability advantages Team profile The Thomson heads of knowledge 28 Gary Young of OPINION 16 Reuters Elite says plan management at Hogan 42 Peppermint your strategic investment Technology discusses the Clare Quinn- Lovells discuss key KM in technology in good time rising bar of tech today 09 Waters on the priorities in 2019 management challenges of Martin Telfer at Paul Longhurst disruptive changes to the BRAIN TRAINING 32 Fulcrum Global 44 at 3Kites probes the PMS market legal market Hands on Technologies says take a second look at ERP Innovation leaders 20 Catherine Allen, REAR VIEW 10 are increasingly risk and best practice Sam Moore at sought after, says Tony lawyer at Bevan Brittan, 36 Burness Paull on Out and about Williams, principal at advises caution when it making documents more 46 Talking ethics of Jomati Consultants comes to consultants secure with DocsCorp algorithms in the law Change for the better. We deliver flexible, modern and professional support services to law firms, find out how at intelligentofficeuk.com UPFRONT ROUNDUP Grow on now n spite of politics reaching near-saturation stock exchange. The alternative legal service levels of uncertainty, law firms are sowing provider has also spun off two new independent I some seeds of new endeavours, both companies in the process: Knowable, working on structurally and geographically seemingly enterprise contract intelligence, and Axiom going for growth. Managed Solutions (AMS), described as “the Europe is fertile ground. DWF has created a new leader in next-generation solutions for complex position to help lead its expansion on the continent. legal work at scale”. Chris DeConti, chief revenue officer at AMS, said the organisations would each have “tailored investment strategies”. Another potential new shoot of growth, Burges Salmon has created an Irish partnership as part of its “prudent Brexit contingency planning”, in the words of senior partner Chris Seaton. In a statement to Briefing, Seaton said the firm would prefer not to need it, leaving it “dormant” for now. 20 However, it could “be activated to ensure continuity of service and advice to our clients depending on Countries to have access to the CMS equIP incubator the nature of the final Brexit arrangements”. programme, across Europe, Asia and the Middle East Meanwhile, Addleshaw Goddard has expanded its Transaction Services Team (TST) to Edinburgh, in response to increased client demand for its blend Ulrich Jüngst has become chairman of DWF of activities in Scotland. Profiled only last issue by Europe, in a move intended to build on today’s Briefing, the TST uses “flexible resourcing, successes – for example, that international revenue imaginative processes, smart tools and technology”, grew by over 130% in the first half of 2018-19. Stefan it says, to provide a broad range of legal services. Paciorek, CEO of DWF’s international division, said Malcom McPherson, senior partner for Addleshaw in a press release: “Further expansion within Goddard in Scotland, said: “To expand the TST Europe and around the world is central to our team in Edinburgh is part of our wider growth future strategy.” The firm is briskly expanding that strategy, which will see continued investment in the presence already, appointing seven new partners in firm across Scotland.” the region in the last 12 months. And finally,CMS has launched a global tech Similarly, ever-expanding Dentons has done so inubator programme, equIP, intended to nurture in Europe by opening a new Düsseldorf office. Its startups to fruition around the world. Having been fourth German outpost after Berlin, Frankfurt and confined to the UK since 2015, this promises access Munich, global CEO Elliott Portnoy said the firm to investors, training, mentoring, networking and coud now claim “quality coverage of all major discounted legal advice. Anthony Waller, a partner financial and industrial hubs in Germany”. The at CMS, said: “Starting and building a successful plan now is to build it into a “full-service office”, business requires much more than a good idea.” added its new managing partner Andreas Haak. The firm plans to expand the offer from the Clearly, with the intention of being the first law current crop of countries – including Austria, firm to float on the main London stock exchange (to France, Singapore and Dubai – to the Latin America raise up to £600m, it says, making it the largest ever region by summer 2019.