November/ December 2020

BriefingSMARTER LEGAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SPECIAL INSIDE BRAND PLANS DISTANT BEHAVIOUR Sarah Walker-Smith, CEO of Shakespeare Tom Bedford at DAC Beachcroft on BRIEFING 5P 2020 Martineau, on liberating lines of business client due diligence during Covid-19

Alert to change How has a global pandemic changed the business of risk awareness and management in law firms? introducing evergreen The only platform you'll ever need

evergreen is sa.global’s single platform helping law rms by going far beyond the many practice management solutions (PMS) already in the market. Built from the ground up, evergreen leverages the full breadth of Microsoft technology combined with sa.global’s exclusive legal layer IP empowering Finance, Lawyers and IT to achieve more.

Mitigates risk Delivers growth Accelerates time to value Future-proof your business today

www.saglobal.com/legal ISSN 2398-9769

Editor’s letter

n the final Briefing of 2019, we rather stated the Who we are… obvious: the law firm of 2020 – a staple talking- I point at industry events for so many years before Richard Brent is the editor- – was just around the corner. Would all those in-chief. He loves to talk to 2020 visions that pundits and firms alike had as many readers as possible, so please contact him at talked up now come to pass? Smarter resourcing that puts [email protected] the efficiency of process, plus fairness, first? Significantly Kayli Olson is Briefing's reduced need for piles of paper to tackle both legal and deputy editor. She tells some great stories, and admin workloads? Greater investment in the research and Richard what to do. Contact: development of new products and channels that make it [email protected] simpler for clients to access the services they want? Action Emily Nash is Briefing’s on corporate carbon footprint, alongside greater uptake of head of client services, ensuring top value for our videoconferencing, perhaps? More pressure to take agile many partners. Contact: [email protected] working to another level? Little could we know how progress on many of these fronts Rupert Collins-White is co-CEO at Burlington Media would, in fact, be driven by something other than what people Group, involved in most of the want or strategies that make more things we do. Contact him at: [email protected] At least one question commercial sense than others. Uncertainty about what a new year might bring for Sarah Cox is co-CEO at now is whether Burlington Media Group; the sector finds business has certainly never been greater in she also helps to steer the the time I’ve been editing this publication, good ship Briefing. Contact: any practices and [email protected] approaches have passed but at least one question now is whether the Rose Boddy is client services sector finds any practices and approaches and events executive, and in a point of no return have passed a point of no return. charge of digital advertising. Contact: [email protected] Another is whether we bid farewell to some mindsets and tendencies often mentioned in these pages over the years. Will we keep hearing the phrase ‘resistance to change’ in legal? Will partnerships be more ready to give the green light to stepping Talk to us up investment in IT to support efficiency and profitability Briefing on Twitter across the board, never mind the basic needs of effective @Briefinglegal business-continuity? What of the dialogue around work-life Email us your thoughts [email protected] balance? And, of course, will different fields of firm operations Find all our back issues online find their influence increases in line with how critical thinking www.briefing.co.uk/our-magazines about alternative delivery has suddenly become? Write us a letter (remember those?) Sarah-Walker Smith, the chief executive of Shakespeare Briefing magazine Burlington Media Group Martineau, has certainly had many a change to manage through 20 Mortlake High St London SW14 8JN 2020 – and there’s more. In our interview this month (p15), she DX 36356 East Sheen reveals the business is now restructuring into a ‘House of Brands’ to help it grow faster, with more flexibility. This issue is brought to you However different to last year’s the end of this one looks for in partnership with: you – and we hope there are some discernible bright spots in the final few weeks – Briefing looks forward to continuing to This month’s interviews were all transcribed by: probe your evolving strategies and tell your stories in 2021. INTELLIGENTSERVICESCENTRE from RICHARD BRENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 3 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 CONTENTS Inside this month

November/ December 2020

BriefingSMARTER LEGAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SPECIAL INSIDE BRAND PLANS DISTANT BEHAVIOUR Sarah Walker-Smith, CEO of Shakespeare Tom Bedford at DAC Beachcroft on 22 BRIEFING 5P 2020 Martineau, on the need for a big change client due diligence during Covid-19

Briefing 5P – Chances to change

Alert to change How has a global pandemic changed the business of “You need to wean people risk awareness and management in law firms? off some old ways of working gradually.” Briefing is the only legal business management title, and is focused exclusively on Mike Giles, finance director, improving the work and worlds Fieldfisher of law firm management leaders. Every issue is packed with relevant insight and lessons from peers and pros.

UPFRONT Mike Madden at INDUSTRY VIEWS cloud and good process Wilson Allen on need to combine Roundup Firms 09 Alan Blanchard at investing in the efficiency of Apiax on overdue Partners 05 make new pledges centralised process 36 to improve diversity disruption of the legal 48 NetMotion and delivery model Quiss Technology on the apparatus of agility FEATURES Ian Raine at OPINION 38 iManage on the Guy Adams at Leaders with risk need for unobtrusively tight Intapp on the Graham responsibility reflect 50 Thomson, chief 11 document security steps to achieving a more 06 on what has changed in collaborative risk culture information security 2020. Kayli Olson reports Val Fox, IT officer at Irwin Mitchell, 40 director at Boodle Ben Bruton at on the long cyber journey Briefing people Hatfield, on the value of Winston & Sarah Walker-Smith, 52 Vincent Giolito at 15 support from Oosha Strawn hears about several chief executive, 2020 legal challenges 07 Emlyon Business Shakespeare Martineau, Andy Bevan at School makes a on a strategic regroup Pulsant on commercial case for 42 resourcing the expanding leaders stepping up to BRIEFING 5P serve their people remit of a firm’s IT team 22 BRAIN TRAINING Phil Muller at People, pricing, process, Christopher Tom Bedford at profitability and Young at Pinnacle 44 Williams Lea on 08 20 DAC Beachcroft the arrival of new efficiency performance – and this sees opportunity ahead for on the risk in managing due time they’re virtual! business risk teams diligence from a distance David Lumsden at 46 Enable on why

Briefing publications and INTELLIGENTSERVICESCENTRE events transcription partner from Visit intelligentofficeuk.com UPFRONT

ROUNDUP Own the goals

oinciding with Black History Month in October, professionals to account for 4%. It says that its goal of leading firms took the opportunity to announce 30% women partners globally by 2022 remains C new targets and actions within their strategies unchanged. for greater diversity and inclusion, long widely Hogan Lovells has been reporting its ethnicity pay gap acknowledged as lacking at the top of the legal for two years, and in October also joined other businesses profession. to sign a letter asking the government to make the Dentons, for example, has underlined commitment to practice mandatory. In April 2020, it said its own pay gap a “20% diversity target in aggregate” for its UK, Ireland was 9.6% (mean) for employees, rising to 17.9% among and Middle East partnership by 2025. Among a host of partners. other measures contained in a new ‘Accelerating race Linklaters has arrived at the same 15% for black and strategy action plan’ for the UK, the firm says the target underrepresented minority ethnic partners in the UK will be reviewed at a future date to set a specific and US by 2025, which it describes as one of its one for BAME representation within both “aspirational targets”. Other goals are to see partnership and leadership roles. 15% of candidates coming from this group Other measures include: having in new partner elections each year, and race on the agenda for all team to have five times as many black meetings; holding ‘stay interviews’ partners globally by 2027. It has also to improve understanding of set annual targets for recruitment of retention factors; and committing minority ethnic (and within that, both partners and business services 20% black) trainees and first-year lawyers, leaders to follow through on three 2025 aggregate diversity and “proportional retention of white, target for the Dentons specific “inclusive leadership black and underrepresented minority UK, Ireland and Middle actions” each, to increase their ethnic” lawyers and business services East partnerships visibility on the topic. Dentons will also employees at all levels. publish its ethnicity pay gap in 2021, it The firm’s senior partner, Charlie Jacobs, says. CEO for the region, Jeremy Cohen, said: “We must do better as a firm, industry and commented in the press release: “This is a society to ensure greater representation of black and watershed moment and now is the time for dialogue, minority ethnic groups at all levels of business.” awareness and action from businesses and their leaders. Linklaters’ 2020 Race action plan also includes the We must tackle racial injustice if we are to become the creation of a new Black Diversity Council to hold it to inclusive firm we aspire to be.” account for progress, and training everybody at the firm Hogan Lovells, meanwhile, has ended the year with in anti-racism within 12 months. Earlier in October the two new diversity and inclusion goals for the US and UK, firm unveiled a new ‘diversity faculty’, a proposition for again by 2025 – that individuals from racial and ethnic clients that brings the firm’s lawyers and diversity team minorities make up 15% of partners, with LGBT+ together to offer strategic advice.

DIVERSITY DELIVERY TO DATE? % % % Also out in October, PwC’s annual 7.6 24.2 3.8 Law firm survey included figures BAME BAME BAME representation for current BAME representation representation representation among partners at in firms at both partner and trainee level (UK-headquartered firms among partners at among trainees at ‘top 11-25’ UK law where international revenue is more ‘top 10’ UK law firms, the same firms, up firms, down from than 20% of the total). up from 6.8% in 2019 from 21.7% in 2019 4.5% in 2019

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 5 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 OPINION

SPEAK UP Reach for the hero

hen I was first taught about a one-off project. Cybersecurity must be computer security two decades baked into everyday business operations. W ago, in a darkened classroom There are free and open cybersecurity deep within the UK’s secretive frameworks, policies, and risk-based Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, controls businesses can adopt and it was an obscure, relatively unheard-of implement to mitigate their cyber risk. subject. Fast forward to today’s digitally Frameworks such as the National Cyber addicted, internet-reliant world, and not a Security Centre (NCSC) 10 steps to cyber week goes by when some kind of security are really important, as they’ll cybersecurity threat does not play out in help you to choose the right controls to the media. Whether it’s nation-state identify and detect cyber threats, and to sponsored espionage, cyber warfare, or respond and recover from the inevitable criminals making billions from attacks. cybercrime, the threat is real, and one that But culture also has a massive role to Graham Thomson affects companies of all sizes, across all play. Rather than a top-down approach, Chief information security officer and sectors. at Irwin Mitchell we work together to head of data analytics But for many, cybersecurity remains a tackle cybersecurity and support those Irwin Mitchell mysterious practice. In order to help who need help. This approach, based on @grahamjthomson counter the myths and scare stories, and our values as a firm, has undoubtedly show there is a logical path to achieve proved a success. good cybersecurity, I co-authored a I frequently get asked for the top three chapter in a new publication, The must-have security controls. I wish it was LegalTech Book, together with trainee that simple. I give six: solicitor Daryna Plysak, who volunteers as a security champion at our firm. 1 Use two-factor authentication for all Our chapter, Cybersecurity: myths and remote access, especially for email. the hero’s journey, draws on Greek 2 Remove local admin rights from user mythology and examines the herculean accounts (this mitigates 85% of the tasks faced by businesses when it comes malware risk). to cybersecurity, the different roads to 3 Use antivirus on your computers, an success, and the challenges faced along email-filtering tool, an internet-filtering the way. Although focused on law firms, tool, and activate intrusion prevention the steps are applicable to all types of systems on your firewalls. digitally enabled businesses that want to 4 Conduct regular all-staff training and reduce their cyber risk cost effectively. awareness and phishing testing. And, as businesses grapple with the 5 Clearly mark incoming email from security issues posed by employees now external senders (“THIS IS NOT FROM working from home, compounded by US”). To begin the fight significantly increased cyber risk, there 6 Use a service to scan your internet- back, you will need has never been a more important time to facing network (join the NCSC’s Cyber someone to create tackle the risk. Security Information Sharing Partnership your cybersecurity The journey starts with realising and and you get an element of this for free). accepting there is a problem requiring battle plan, and lead investment. Then, to begin the fight back, There is no such thing as perfect the charge but also you will need someone to create your cybersecurity. It is not a destination, but a the ongoing war – it’s cybersecurity battle plan, and lead the journey. But the reward of success is a gift not a one-off project charge but also the ongoing war – it’s not to your firm.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 6 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 OPINION

SPEAK UP A lesson in servant leadership

or a long time, ‘servant leaders’ growth in sales and, most importantly, – managers who put themselves profit. We actually found that servant F at the service of their teams, leadership influenced employee morale rather than the other way and wellbeing and had a positive impact around – have been known to impact on company profits too, even in the midst company morale positively through their of a crisis. In fact, while only 22 of the 55 effective people management. stores in our sample achieved positive Servant leaders are characterised by profit growth, 18 of those 22 successful their caring for each individual employee stores had managers rated above average and those people’s career paths and for servant leadership. livelihoods. They empower employees, The link between servant leadership put them first, help them to grow and and a boost in company profit is one that succeed, and behave ethically and had yet to be found robustly in research. morally. Research has shown that these It certainly debunks previous doubts Vincent Giolito elements make employees want to work about servant leadership. Not only is Professor of strategy for the organisation, as they feel valued servant leadership good for people Emlyon Business School and appreciated at work. management and employee morale – it

@vgiolito However, it is often questioned also has a positive impact on company whether servant leaders might improve performance, measured by growth in morale to the detriment of company sales and profit. profit. There has always been the Following this research, we would suspicion that servant leaders may be too advise that more managers consider ‘nice’ to their teams, which could be at the acting in line with the servant-leadership company’s expense. model – being at the service of their Along with a number of other employees. Indeed, this investigation international academics from the demonstrates that servant leadership University of Illinois, the Rotterdam positively impacts all financial indicators, Not only is servant School of Management, Erasmus making it beneficial for all stakeholders, leadership good for University, and the University of including company shareholders. By people management Auckland, I therefore decided to evaluate showing servant leadership as conducive and employee whether servant leadership was a positive to profit, we may help to resolve a morale – it also has for employees, but not for the business’s fundamental tension that can exist sales and profit. In a study of 485 between employees and shareholders. It’s a positive impact on respondents working in 55 similar stores clear that the notion ‘people over profit’ is company performance, within a single company across a large not in fact mutually exclusive, and by measured by growth in metropolitan area in France, we linked focusing on people you can in turn boost sales and profit the type of leadership at each store to profit too.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 7 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL OPINION

TO THE POINT Get risk-ready for 2021

ithin risk and compliance, our dynamically. We have had one Tiger observation would be that firms Team that has been working to ‘silently’ W are doing a good job of initiate an ‘add party to matter’ process undertaking the risk based on the contents of legal documents assessments as they take on matters – as they are being drafted. The lawyer conflicts and anti-money laundering does the lawyerly thing, drafting the (AML) assessments are getting ever more document in Word and adding parties as robust, and while AML evidence- they need to. On saving, the document is gathering can be tedious and time- then assessed to determine whether all consuming, it is being completed. To parties in the document are already achieve this, we have a powerful tool linked to the matter. If there has been an – the releasing of the matter number. As addition, an add-party-to-matter request risk and compliance specialists, we do is automatically and silently created. A have a potential hold over fee-earning new conflict search is run, and only Christopher Young teams – don’t issue a matter number until highlighted to the risk team if new hits Principal consultant and head they have done all that they need to do. are generated. of risk and BD practices While this works at matter inception, We have also been sharing the outputs Pinnacle however, it doesn’t help with ongoing of two other Tiger Teams – one that has @PinnacleOa risk management. been developing a risk-reporting content We are seeing an increasing number of pack, the other, new ‘Actionable Insights’, firms looking to understand and manage which means embedding simple risk through the lifecycle of the matter. It instruction forms and action buttons into For more information, visit: has always been an obligation to identify reports. The user no longer has to go into www.briefing.co.uk/tiger-team changes, but now it’s about the difference another system to do whatever the between risk assessment and risk dashboard is highlighting – initiate a bill, management. Risk assessment is a perform a risk check, or add a calendar point-in-time action, whereas risk entry. Instead, it allows you to turn management means the identification of reporting from FYI to FYA – ‘for your risks and understanding of changes in action’ – and to fundamentally accelerate parameters over time as things evolve or the speed at which your firm gains and more information is discovered. acts on insights. We also know that risk and There are truly exciting developments compliance teams are stretched for going on in the technology arena – things resources. This means most flag things appear to be becoming cheaper and Having captured they see as high risk at the outset, add quicker to deliver. Risk teams need to considerable savings them to a list, and monitor the items on capitalise on this movement. Having in office space use, that list. The challenge here is that being captured considerable savings in office travel, and other added to the list for monitoring relies on space use, travel, and other costs, do we costs, do we now seize the quality of the data that is input now seize this moment to focus on initially – but matters inevitably change automating the identification of risks this moment to focus as lawyers are executing them. within firms? The ultimate prize – on automating the It’s why more firms are asking us to reducing the inherent risks of running a identification of risks use some of the new technologies professional services advisory business – within firms? available to review inflight matters is surely too big to pass up.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 8 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL OPINION

COMMENT Processing the case for change n spite of the compelling retrieval processes are quite a heavy reasons that motivate firms to administrative burden during the I move to a centralised process onboarding process, but a lot of tasks can model, many struggle with be reduced through process automation. staffing decisions or securing the buy-in For example, firms can embed system to support a change. In a recent webinar access to corporate tree and beneficial poll of general counsel and conflicts and owners’ data through third-party risk professionals from firms of all sizes, providers such as Bureau van Dijk (BvD) 33% were not yet centralised and said and Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). they’d like to adopt the model. But This can build a strong business case. unsurprisingly, there was a split between The goal is to leverage information, but in those without management budget or a seamless way, so you can easily surface Mike Madden buy-in and those unsure of the best way that information to people throughout Senior business consultant to design and implement it. the process. And the technology these Wilson Allen Many firms looking to centralise are days is a lot more flexible and adaptable considering significant investments in to changes in business needs. @WilsonAllenTeam technology. There are several key vendors in the legal technology market, Automate where possible particularly for onboarding clients and Another example is meeting outside For more information, visit: new business intake. But investment in counsel guidelines. Firms may spend www.wilsonallen.com technology isn’t necessarily inexpensive. many hours a year trying to straighten out and understand this process. If it can be Make the benefits known embedded within the client-onboarding Making a case for investment is about process, it’s a lot more straightforward bringing the benefits to the attention of and easier to understand, and you senior management. In a partner-driven develop consistency. There are suitable firm, it isn’t easy to justify significant technologies that allow firms of all sizes expenditure that erodes partners’ to manage the process very efficiently as Manual data retrieval capital. You need to be able to part of the client-onboarding process. processes are quite a demonstrate the kinds of benefits a Investing in technology, risk model, heavy administrative product can offer. and your staffing strategy is critical for burden during the the operational success of your business Embed intelligence in the process processes. Regardless of the approach onboarding process, One good example, which many firms and route to success, demonstrate that but a lot of tasks can are pursuing, is the ability to embed investment will enable the firm to be reduced through third-party technology in the client- leverage additional information and make process automation onboarding process. Manual data the process that much more efficient.

Your documents are sensitive, urgent Do you need a next day and business critical. Our tracked services provide delivery reports, online delivery that’s guaranteed? tracking in real-time, and with next-day delivery by 9am as standard.

For more information email [email protected] or visit dxdelivery.com/exchange

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 9 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES

Features 11 15 At home with risk Brand promises How is the law firm risk Sarah Walker-Smith, chief management and compliance executive at Shakespeare team responding as physical Martineau, tells Richard isolation and intense Brent the firm had to uncertainty continue? introduce significant strategic Kayli Olson reports and structural change

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 10 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES

THE BIG IDEA At home with risk What does the increased risk and uncertainty offered up by 2020 mean for the world of law firm risk management? Kayli Olson investigates

o one person – nor perhaps “With employees now working in a wide range of business continuity plan (BCP) environments at home, we have had to be very – could have foreseen or prepared aware of how people are using and transferring N for the amount of change and risk data, and ensure that those environments don’t involved in 2020. Andrew Coates, compromise data protection or client the partner responsible for managing risk and confidentiality. compliance at law firm Kennedys, says it has had to “From an employee welfare point of view, all focus on three main areas – data security, employee people have had a thorough homeworking welfare, and making offices Covid-19 secure. assessment to ensure their safety and wellbeing, “On the data security front, we undertook a and we had to ensure that our offices provided a careful analysis of our workflows to ensure there Covid-19-secure environment for employees, as and >> weren’t any weaknesses in our processes,” he says. when they could return to the office.”

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 11 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES

“We’ve been very focused on the additional information security risks associated with remote working. That includes both how we control documents and client data confidentiality.”

Darren Mitchell, global chief operating officer, Hogan Lovells

From a legal and regulatory perspective, Claire with increased threat activity.” Larbey, general counsel at Trowers & Hamlins, says David Aird, IT director at DAC Beachcroft, adds the big challenge approaching lockdown was that there were very obvious challenges around making sure people were aware of how they could things like bandwidth, certain videoconference work from home most effectively. “Confidentiality, platforms, remote desktop availability and some in particular, was a big focus,” she says. “Where are other technology factors in the first few days of people working from, and who could overhear lockdown. “In terms of the security risk, we them? Supervision was the other big thing. continued to carry out fake phishing attacks and “There was some practical advice, such as having monitored our security and compliance. Although a reminder in the diary to maintain comms, but there has been a huge shift to more digital, less- there were also more complex areas of process that paper working, there were new challenges around we looked into – such as the use of electronic processes like printing at home. How do you ensure signatures, Power of Attorney, and how the wills client data is secure and processes compliant? It’s team was going to work if a will needed to be also difficult to have a standardised way of working signed in person.” and to manage confidential waste collection when everyone is working from home.” Processing change Also to be expected, he adds, was a huge The BCP in place at Trowers & Hamlins meant that upswing in text message and email attacks from it had already purchased enough licences for very significant threats – some of them Covid-19- everyone to be able to use Citrix as their remote- related. working desktop. Prior to the pandemic, Larbey says that Trowers “We already had an IT plan in place so that & Hamlins had invested in strong systems coupled people were able to work from home effectively,” with good business-intake talent. This meant a new says Larbey. “What we didn’t have were the finer matter/client opening form, which included a details such as logistics around new digital-only detailed risk assessment for each new client that processes. After all, it was never envisaged that we listed ID requirements and so on. “We took steps would have this number of people out of the office like video-calling clients to check them against at any one time. their ID, and trying to find the most secure “You would always expect to have at least 30% of environment for video calls was a big priority here. staff in the office – and because we’ve got a number We also had to issue guidance on the use of of offices around the world, even if one office went electronic communication forms. down, the other offices wouldn’t.” “We were using e-signatures before, and also had Darren Mitchell, global chief operating officer at an internal team that looked at which technologies Hogan Lovells, says its key priority was to ensure were available on the market, with their benefits, that protocols and operational changes were in risks and effects on the business. A number of our place for people’s safety. “Besides the ordinary risks work types were driven by that questioning, associated with managing the firm, we’ve been very looking at how we could use technology effectively focused on the additional information security risks – at what our clients were using, as well as the best associated with remote working. platforms for us.” “That includes both how we control documents Aird at DAC Beachcroft says the work has gone and client data confidentiality, and also ensure that way beyond working well within your BCP. Like our people are alert to the increased cyber threat as many others, he says the firm was fortunate already >> bad actors have looked to exploit the environment to have invested in some digital tools like

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 12 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES

“Even though every jurisdiction was doing things slightly differently, based on local lockdowns and guidance, our messaging and approach was consistent.”

Claire Larbey, general counsel, Trowers & Hamlins

e-signatures, which were used in some parts of the Aird says comms at DAC Beachcroft were just as business more than others, but have now been important – not only around managing the risk of rolled out across the whole firm. “But we also then Covid-19, but also the impact of measures on had to wait for certain parts of the sector to catch people’s mental health. The firm used Facebook up – Land Registry, for example, has just Workplace alongside its intranet, he says – announced that e-signatures will be accepted as including creating a ‘Not Home Alone’ group where part of its processes. That’s why some teams, like people could share any updates on the new work- real estate, hadn’t used e-signatures in the past – life environment, and impact on mental health. because it wasn’t admissible.” Aird believes that the legal sector’s response to the pandemic has been quite strong overall, which Teams up he says was heartening. To combat the broadband Another aspect of mitigating the uncertainty and challenge that many firms were seeing, DAC heightened risks the pandemic has produced is to Beachcroft teamed up with Foot Anstey to create a get different players together to monitor the broadband speed-checking utility, which was then evolving risk landscape continually and discuss passed around the wider legal sector through a future strategy. At Trowers & Hamlins, this took the group, he says. “We created some scripts for data form of a Covid-19 leadership team made up of the gathered to help people diagnose problems. It’s not chair, managing partner and directors across top secret, or a source of competitive advantage – different departments – Larbey included. we’re all in this together so we wanted to help She says the team was created just before others out.” lockdown, and it meets twice a week. If legal/ regulatory queries come in from people, Larbey Client concerns provides answers and also puts them in front of the Larbey adds: “There was a lot of servicing our Covid-19 board to discuss – as many will have clients’ needs in terms of unforeseen problems as practical implications for the whole firm, she points well.” She says that much of the firm’s approach to out: “It’s important that we all sing from the same managing the risk impact of the pandemic was hymn sheet. The board then comes up with driven by clients phoning up to say they couldn’t do guidance and messaging about what needs to be something, and lawyers needing to find solutions. done from a legal and regulatory perspective and “We monitored the Law Society and Solicitors how to implement it. By nailing down our Regulation Authority websites and guidance to stay communications, we’re better managing our risk.” up to date with relevant information. We also ran a Trowers & Hamlins also has a Covid-19 intranet confidential forum for general counsel, which they page with questions and answers – and comms could use to raise queries, comment on what they were carefully controlled when going out saw coming up around risk and Covid-19-related externally as well as internally, she adds. issues, or to discuss what other firms were doing.” It also has designated people in each of the firm’s Many firms have also seen an increase in data locations internationally, who update the Covid-19 subject access requests (DSARs) and complaints. leadership team in the UK. “Even though every Larbey says: “Most were unfounded, and many jurisdiction was doing things slightly differently, queries dated back to around 1998. We couldn’t based on local lockdowns and guidance, our physically get to the files because they were deep in messaging and approach was consistent. This was storage, which was shut down. The Information also important because the IT function is driven Commissioner’s Office issued a guidance note to >> from the UK – as are areas such as ID-checking.” say you could explain that there would be a delay in

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 13 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES >>

“The sustainability of long-term mass remote working on both mental health and productivity is something to take into consideration. People will probably need more equipment to create an office space.”

David Aird, IT director, DAC Beachcroft

timetabling, provided you’d done all you could for “Our focus has since become slightly more those making the request.” business-as-usual, which means a focus on She says the workload for her team also cybersecurity. We’re also in the middle of changed, as there were still ‘normal’ queries reworking our IT strategy – a little through a coming in, but much work was now pandemic Covid-19 lens, but it isn’t all about Covid-19.” situation-driven – a partner wanting to confirm He can see a future of much more agile whether a client could use the office because they working, he says. “It’s been a great leveller for couldn’t use their own, for example, or how many people during the pandemic, but it doesn’t come signatures were needed on a certain document. without its own risks. I’m an extrovert, I like people – and the sustainability of long-term mass Facing the future remote working on both mental health and So, what’s in store for the future of law firm risk productivity is something to take into management, compliance and security? Perhaps consideration. We’re looking at a work-at-home it’s too early into this situation to tell – but the test whereby, if you meet certain criteria, you can pandemic is likely to have shown up any holes work from home as much as you and your team lurking in your strategy surrounding risk find acceptable. I think people will probably need management. Hopefully, it has also strengthened more equipment to create an office space at home, and changed the firm for the better. so we’ll be looking at that as well.” Trowers & Hamlins is now finessing things it Andrew Alderson, director of facilities at started implementing at the beginning of Kennedys, says there are clearly benefits of lockdown, says Larbey, while also finalising some homeworking. But, as Larbey said at the start, future plans for the firm in 2021. “Generally supervision is a potential difficulty in many minds. speaking, all firms have been looking at who they “How do you supervise apprentices, trainees are, and what an office environment will look like and other junior employees in a digital world and going forward. What has been successful, and provide them with the appropriate support to what has not? Where do we want to be and where learn and progress? Supporting people has do our clients want us to be? certainly posed an interesting challenge, for both “But it’s important to keep in mind that we the supervisors and the supervised. aren’t out of the woods yet.” “The more digital we become, and the more Aird agrees. DAC Beachcroft is also looking at remote working there is, the greater the that ‘new normal’. He says there were three dependence on IT infrastructures as well – so we phases of changes following the pandemic. “At need to risk-manage that through ongoing reviews first, IT was in the spotlight – trying to get things and investment in our technology and processes.” set up for people to work from home securely. The future is almost certainly agile – and a Then the focus moved on to HR – particularly hybrid working model may well win out over the furlough and people management. Was there traditional nine-to-five commuter grind (typically enough work and what was happening in terms of longer hours in legal, of course). But as everyone allocation?” points out, that opportunity is not without risk. The third stage, and one we’re in now, involves Firms will need to continue to review processes, looking at how to keep people safe and prepare messaging and management of people if they want offices to be Covid-19-secure in a more strategic to mitigate increasing or changing risk factors in way, he says. the next phase of what we’re all living through.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 14 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES

BRIEFING PEOPLE PHOTO CREDIT:: URSULA KELLY CREDIT:: PHOTO BRIEFING PEOPLE Brand promises As the national law firm Shakespeare Martineau becomes a group of individual LLPs and brands, chief executive Sarah Walker-Smith tells Richard Brent why 2020 is the right year to transform both strategy and structure while giving culture and values closer attention than ever

f you started a law firm from shadow board comprising 12 different voices at the scratch today, which processes and firm were both locked away for a set of workshops I other aspects of the organisation as – “in a forest, literally,” she says – and out came it stands would you keep and perspectives on what a new firm strategy ought to which would you ditch? It’s a look like. question Briefing has posed in our research and at Walker-Smith had a plan before, but it needed events several times over the last 10 years – a nod to sense-checking. And one outcome of this the challenge that long legacy can often present to consultation is that Shakespeare Martineau is now a useful change – and it surely seems one for 2020. group – a collection of individual LLPs under one It has certainly been on the mind of Sarah umbrella, each of which will have more autonomy Walker-Smith, who is less than two years into her over how they go to market and manage business role as the CEO of Shakespeare Martineau. In the for themselves. >> summer of 2019, her board and a newly appointed She explains: “We know that we need to be

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 15 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES

significantly bigger to fulfil the potential of and lawyers really focused on clients, growth and everyone who works at the firm – but one rather collaboration across their specialisms.” strange thing about the way the legal sector tends to In fact, after emerging from that forest, she grow is the acquisition of firms only to annihilate actually approached senior people at the firm and them. You buy a great brand, with great ideas, but offered an open discussion about whether they because you’re bigger, your ideas are inflicted on could see themselves in a number of new roles in them. It’s our way or the highway. We want to what would be an entirely new structure. reverse that.” “We now have three new managing directors on In what is dubbed the ‘House of Brands’ strategy, the board, who have been chosen only for their new names are now immediately being sought out leadership capabilities, not because of any legal that find this prospect appealing, potentially in a background. The three happen to be lawyers, but niche area or a particular part of the country. Under there’s no reason they’d need to be, and they have the umbrella, they’ll be joining the likes of Lime no chargeable hours targets,” she says. Solicitors (personal injury and clinical negligence), One of these MDs is Victoria Tester – an Corclaim (debt and loss recovery) and the town employment lawyer initially, who went on to planning consultancy Marrons Planning. The latter, become the firm’s HR director, then chief operating as an example, already “sits very neatly alongside officer – and is now back in the legal team (but the firm’s legal services as its own brand,” Walker- clearly not lawyering). It’s one example of a Smith says. “But we need to liberate it.” flexibility that returns as a theme during our At the same time, she highlights, many legal interview. “We’ll find the right person for the job,” businesses may “genuinely sadly” be considering Walker-Smith says simply. their options in the climate brought on by Covid-19. Supporting the MDs there was then another new “They could be struggling with insurance, or opportunity for people – to be a ‘super-team leader’ keeping up with compliance, and we are able to in a much more streamlined structure. “Another help them to continue doing what they love to do, challenge that can arise in law firms is thinking but without telling them how to do it.” about your own location in silos – so we wanted to There will be economies of scale through shared appoint leaders of really big new national teams services, such as IT, she explains, and additional that required people to be more collaborative,” says investment options are also being considered: “How Walker-Smith. There are 10 of these teams today far and how fast will depend on how much we forming a ‘growth board’, down from 50 or so in the need.” former arrangement, she says.

Open roles Less policy, more power Walker-Smith and her team realised some other It has to be said that all of this was ideated before changes would be needed to support the ambitious Covid-19 reached the UK. The structure was overarching transformation. officially signed off in March (the strategy in She says: “We’ve long talked about enabling November), and they came into force in May. Did people to be round pegs in round holes – getting she think twice about going ahead? It was them into the right jobs that play to their strengths, discussed, she says, but the consensus was that change had now become even more important. The teams are not responsible for geographies. “We don’t want the units to be considering which person is seated in which location when making “One rather strange thing about the decisions about work and, of course, the way that way the legal sector tends to grow many businesses are operating at the moment it is the acquisition of firms only to often doesn’t matter where people are working. annihilate them.” “Moreover, we want and need empowerment. >>

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 16 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES

The super teams each have a national P&L. There helped this to happen. There’s an elected are some tramlines and golden threads to guard membership board, which chooses the chief exec against silos forming, but we also want to give – but that person is then free to do the sorts of greater flexibility around how best to manage things we’ve discussed. “At many law firms it would teams and serve clients. When a business reaches a probably have taken months, if not years,” she certain size, you have to let go and empower people, suggests. “We have a good balance of enabling or you risk stifling both innovation and motivation.” quick decisions and ensuring that I’m listening to Each team leader also has a scorecard that people and bringing them along on the journey.” encourages collaboration and rewards effort put in The one in fact reinforces the importance of the that supports other teams. Formal annual other, she says. performance reviews are out in favour of ongoing On the other hand, she was somewhat amused, dialogue with a few checkpoints, and – perhaps she says, to be identified as the number one legal most radically – so is the annual budget. Walker- sector LinkedIn influencer in 2020, with the firm Smith says: “The uncertainty of Covid-19 has also ranking first – higher than those in the magic absolutely amplified it, but an annual budget is circle, she notes. usually out of date the minute you complete it. She says: “It’s only a measure of social media We’re now doing 13-week planning sprints instead, impressions and engagement, but that work which keeps us on our toes and better connected to supports the success of the business, which is how what’s really happening in the business. We can see my success is measured. Changing the profile of the five quarters ahead, and the whole thing is a lot firm will help us to engage more with clients, make more agile, which is at the heart of what we’re our current talent proud, and attract new people. trying to achieve. “I do know how important all of that is. Possibly “Having identified values such as being my background, or having the confidence to share entrepreneurial and brave, we also need to see that things that others might not, has made some those ideas aren’t compatible with a very rigid difference. I know plenty of lawyers who are not bureaucratic system. It’s very important that what risk-averse, but the sector as a whole certainly can you’re doing matches what you’re saying.” be – and if you’re open-minded about doing things So, part of the push to give people in leadership differently you can potentially upset the natural greater autonomy also involves stripping back some pecking order.” administrative work, including adherence to It’s unsurprising perhaps that she believes the complex policies. “We’re holding people to account firm doesn’t need much of a social media policy for outputs, with a few really big KPIs that are either. “Somebody did ask once, and I said it’s two becoming much more visible across the words – be yourself. What’s the worst that could organisation. But within our tramlines, you can do happen? We can deal with a problem if it arises, and quite a lot of what you want.” people need to feel empowered to try things. Equally, some people don’t like it – that’s great too, Start with yourself that’s authentic. It’s about playing to strengths and Walker-Smith is not a lawyer. For a long time she allowing individuality – which is also key to was chief operating officer at another law firm, but building diversity.” before that was a chartered accountant working at two of the Big Four, followed by several senior marketing roles (via the risk and other departments) at Boots. Does she believe this range “An annual budget is usually out of of experience makes her more inclined – able, even – to try for bigger or bolder business date the minute you complete it. transformations? We’re now doing 13-week planning She is clear that the firm’s constitution has sprints instead.” >>

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 17 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES >>

FIRM FACTS Shakespeare Martineau Offices: 9 Countries: 1 Revenue (FY19/20): £70.7m One LinkedIn post this summer involved Total headcount: 847 (September 20) identifying herself as something of a “social mobility story” – revealing that her A-Level results change that is simultaneously policy-light. The firm were two Cs and one E. This was in the context of suddenly had to bring forward its 2020 plan to give the ditched algorithm for student assessment in the everyone laptops, she admits, but they were absence of exams. “Somebody quite rightly available within those critical few weeks. And now challenged me to produce our policy – so I thought there’s also a desk-booking app for a limited I ought to check! We don’t have a minimum number, with further investment in offices’ requirement for A-Levels, but still have the collaboration spaces on the cards. minimum 2.1 degree, unless there are special “There are people who struggle working from circumstances.” She wanted to know more about home for any number of reasons, and they can those from the HR team, and is now pushing for a work in the office. There’s not a single model for higher proportion of future trainees to be people this, and again I think it’s about flexibility – already working at the firm, for example in meeting individuals where they are in life, and paralegal roles. making that work. She says that when the board got talking about “But we all know that the legal sector isn’t as this, they realised there was perhaps a case for diverse as it ought to be, and presenteeism has long classifying around two-thirds of them as examples been one of the barriers to that. If we can just of social mobility. The firm has now signed up to knock those assumptions around long hours, the Social Mobility Pledge – covering practices in socialising in certain ways, and so on, out of the access, outreach and recruitment – which is park – and instead prioritise connection to teams chaired by Justine Greening. “We also have slightly and clients – there’s automatically some more women than men on the board, but 51% of the opportunity to level up. And we say that we bring firm’s overall membership is not female, and we life and business together for our clients – so we don’t have 19% BAME. I won’t be satisfied we have have to do it for all our own people as well.” achieved diversity until we have changed that.” True to her word, and working from ‘the shed’ She’s “nervous” about setting targets, however (our interview finds her there, indeed – it looks like – the argument, of course, that people don’t wish to quite a cosy one, thankfully, but it’s undeniably a succeed in their career as part of a target-hitting shed), Walker-Smith also used a little of her process. “But as a former accountant, I am a big lockdown time to show people what some of the believer in keeping measurement in the spotlight in rest of her life entails. There’s a vlog on the firm’s order to drive change like that.” Those national YouTube channel called ShedLife, where updates demographic figures are on the scorecard as a point also include some tracks put together with senior of comparison to stay, she says, and she expects partner (and head of energy, appropriately enough) them to be reflected in all recruitment shortlists. Andrew Whitehead. One of her big passions outside work is musical theatre, and he’s “an Shed alert amazing pianist” who’s just acquired a keyboard Aside from meeting Covid-safe requirements, the and drumkit to go with the grand piano. future of agile working is another area of big You don’t see that many legal business leadership duos also providing the entertainment, even in these strange days. They’ve recently been working on a little something from the film Frozen 2, apparently – Into the Unknown. The concept is “We say that we bring life and clearly on brand (remember that core value of business together for our clients – so brave), but hopefully Walker-Smith and her team we have to do it for all our own people also have a solid strategy that remains ready to flex as well.” for whatever the hugely uncertain future holds.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 18 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 BRAIN TRAINING

Brain training 20 Problems with solutions Tom Bedford, partner at DAC Beachcroft, says it’s crucial that firms also consider the risk in remote client communication

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 19 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 BRAIN TRAINING

HANDS ON Problems with solutions Tom Bedford, partner in the solicitors’ risk team at DAC Beachcroft, considers the challenges of conducting client due diligence and executing documents in the Covid-19 era

ost lawyers love now allow signatures to be paper. Large witnessed using one of the video Responsibility rests with M files and platforms with which we have documents all become familiar. the solicitor to ensure have This change is said to be that appropriate client traditionally filled our filing temporary, with matters due diligence has been cabinets and huge hangars of reverting to the old system in undertaken in accordance storage facilities up and down 2022. Whether that remains the with their assessment of the the country. case will depend, we suspect, on In recent years, most law how the new system works. risk presented firms have embraced paperless The Land Registry also working as far as possible, made updated its guidance on 27 July steps: easier by changes to the law 2020. It will now accept • Using digital identity and which have meant that deeds e-signed deeds and documents. verification services which meet and discharges can be executed This is subject to a number of the requirements of the money electronically, and court conditions. All parties must laundering regulations, namely documents can be submitted by agree, the parties must be services that are secure from email or electronic filing represented by conveyancers fraud and misuse and capable of systems. and the conveyancers must have providing an appropriate level of The consequences of the control of the signing process. assurance that the client is who pandemic are wide-ranging for they say they are. practitioners. Many are Identifying options • Obtaining and analysing negative, but one positive is that One of the other problems additional data to verify it has forced us to adopt a more caused by the pandemic, information provided by the modern way of working for however, is the difficulty for client, including geolocation, IP certain procedures that have solicitors, for whom it is crucial addresses and verifiable phone traditionally required paper. to verify a client’s identity. An numbers. Take, for example, the way in advisory note produced by the • Sending secure codes to the which wills are signed and legal sector affinity group client’s telephone numbers, witnessed. The process of confirms that a firm can still email addresses or physical signing and witnessing wills in onboard a client, even though addresses to validate access to person has been in existence for they cannot complete accounts. 183 years. New rules, which identification and verification • Perhaps most popular of all, have been hurried through procedures in person. They using live videoconferencing to Parliament, and which will be advise that firms can take all, or enable clients to show their faces >> backdated to 31 January 2020, a combination, of the following and original photo documents to

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 20 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 BRAIN TRAINING >>

enable the solicitor to compare embrace change, but them to a scanned copy of the practitioners should remain same document. There is also the risk cautious, which is why the It’s not necessarily all that that the quality of the reaction across the profession to straightforward, as the videoconferencing facility the recent changes has been responsibility rests with the might be poor, calling into mixed and, in some quarters, solicitor to ensure that question the execution rather lukewarm. appropriate client due diligence process, or that fraudulent Where a solicitor decides to (CDD) has been undertaken in alterations could be made use an electronic method of accordance with their execution, or to undertake CDD, assessment of the risk they should always document presented by a particular client their decision-making process or transaction. It is not difficult to foresee that and reasoning in writing on As a solicitor who acts for issues such as these will put their file. When considering the other lawyers when they face solicitors, and their insurers, in a options, they should have regard claims or regulatory action by difficult position unless there is to the nature of the client, the the SRA, these very sudden a clear audit trail on the reliability of the available changes to long-established solicitor’s file. technology and whether it practices cause me concern. would be feasible to complete Technology can’t always Know the limitations the procedure in the provide the solution, and in With the pandemic and the ‘conventional’ way. some ways it can create associated downturn in the They should also consider the problems. When it comes to economy, the incidence of client’s needs. Many clients may ensuring that wills are detected fraud will increase. not have access to the internet witnessed properly, it might Fraudsters have already speedily or the software required, or they delay matters further to taken advantage of weaknesses may find it difficult to use. This circulate the document in firms’ procedures, including is especially true in the case of between the testator and the their cybersecurity. elderly or vulnerable clients, witness, and there is not always Using some of the digital who may also need the most an easy way to transfer that CDD checks, to which I have urgent attention. document between them. already referred, might make it Firms should remain wary of Many solicitors have opted easier for fraudsters to dupe the risk of fraud. The usual red not to use a video platform, and firms. That is especially true flags continue to apply, have instead carried out home where junior solicitors are including being provided with visits to facilitate witnessing at working from home – as unusual or rushed instructions; a safe distance. This can be lockdowns or long-term resistance to complying with quicker. Will the solicitor who homeworking more generally CDD requirements; requests to chose to use videoconferencing could lead to an erosion of the make payments into a client facilities, inadvertently delaying supervision structures that firms account where no obvious legal execution, be exposed to a have in place. work is being carried out; and claim from a disappointed The use of technology is to be transactions that do not make beneficiary where the testator encouraged, but it is vital that business or practical sense. has died before the will could our colleagues at all levels are Law firms should reiterate be completed? aware of its limitations. this to their employees and There is also the risk that the For example, witnesses to ensure that all fee earners are quality of the Land Registry documents must familiar with the recent changes videoconferencing facility use two-factor authentication by to the law that apply to them might be poor, calling into providing an email address and and the risks associated with question the execution process, mobile telephone number. Many these new ways of working. or that fraudulent alterations platforms used by firms do not In summary, solicitors should could be made after execution. provide this functionality remain open-minded to change, without providing witnesses but they should also think with access to the whole critically, consider all the document. options and document their As a profession, we want to thinking.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 21 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL

Give me 5P How are law firms managing to continue the work of building a more joined-up business?

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 22 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

Joined-up forces

he Briefing 5P Ps have changed a few times over the years. When you give it some T thought, it’s remarkable just how many words beginning with P have been central to law firms’ expanding business change programmes as they’ve slowly but steadily modernised. In the past, we’ve run sessions focused on the practicalities of project management, the rise of productisation, and pitching for work more thoughtfully and holistically as a firm, with an eye on the expectations of client-side procurement. There have been demonstrations of multiple platforms, everything from portals and moving paper-light to practice economics, and For more information, visit: plenty of policies and priorities up for consideration. www.briefing.co.uk/5p-2020 But in the year of the pandemic and ‘new normal’, it’s back to some really important basics as our cornerstones of 5P 2020 – what firms can change to price their work more attractively, competitively and profitably; the levers they might pull on to increase In the year of the both operational performance and people pandemic and engagement in such challenging times; and practical opportunities for process improvement in the ‘new normal’, it’s inevitably more dispersed world of work. back to some One word that runs through many of the discussions really important is collaboration and, as in previous years, our agenda basics as our has been produced with the help of our partners to be cornerstones of as relevant, and reflective of real practice, as possible. 5P 2020

RICHARD BRENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

25 27 Relationships at risk Data points for Alan Mercer at Introhive says increased profitability consider the human capital at stake Gareth Thomas at Intapp says in vulnerable client connections pay attention to pricing history

29 33 Power to reprocess A strategy of healthy scepticism Mike Giles at Fieldfisher on Eddie Hartman at Simon-Kucher & maximising what data can do Partners on the likelihood of significant with evergreen from sa.global law firm change in future

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 23 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 Helping law firms around the world get the most from their technology investments

Working with

#AskPinnacle | [email protected] | www.pinnacle-oa.com

Pinnacle-A4-Advert-A4_v4.indd 1 06/11/2020 13:28 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

Relationships at risk Alan Mercer, legal industry director at Introhive, asks whether poor-quality CRM data is putting firms at risk of losing vital relationship capital

cross the legal sector, one of the generate a return on investment. biggest challenges relating to For firms today, it has never been more A customer relationship important to ensure that the contact data management (CRM) software lies stored in the CRM is up to date and in poor data quality, and this impacts every accurate. As legal services continue to be facet of a law firm. With solicitors and commoditised, client service excellence is support teams busy managing day-to-day still one of the most effective ways to client needs, little time is left to update differentiate yours from other firms – and CRM records properly – success is more likely when but the importance of your firm can quickly access updating and maintaining the contact and activity data the CRM with accurate Studies tell us that it needs. data cannot be overstated. 88% of users admit Picture this: you’re a As a result, CRM adoption they’ve added solicitor providing corporate rates often remain low incomplete or tax advice to a large client. because teams are inaccurate data to There have recently been unwilling or unable to trust contact records changes within the client’s their database. organisational structure, and Studies tell us that 88% while you’re well aware of of users admit they’ve this, you’ve not yet updated added incomplete or inaccurate data to the CRM accordingly. There are, after all, contact records. We also know that as much too few hours in a day, it seems. as 91% of CRM data is incomplete or Unbeknownst to you, the marketing or inaccurate and roughly 70% of that data business development department of your decays annually. And 62% of CRM users firm has just pulled a list of contacts and, across all industries admit they don’t log all unfortunately, has out-of-date contact data activities, making it impossible to track for an upcoming campaign. Your contact is where engagement is lacking, or to identify missed, and the wrong person receives an clients at risk of becoming ignored or email that’s not relevant to them – or the disengaged, potentially leading to decreased email bounces back. If sent to the wrong client satisfaction and churn. contact, they could unsubscribe, harming With this kind of data quality, it’s no the marketing department’s email success, surprise that CRM projects often fail to and bounce-backs further negatively impact

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 25 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

the ability to send future communications. the ability to measure and maintain this In addition, the firm now looks relationship capital across the board. disorganised to a major client. When firms are relying on inaccurate or incomplete information, another cost is lost Protecting relationships, reputation productivity as solicitors hunt down and productivity relevant information that should have been Poor data quality makes it nearly impossible readily available in the CRM. for marketing or business development However, one way they can improve teams to manage lists, and creates both CRM adoption and data quality is confusion for client account teams who through the use of artificial intelligence and need the right contact information or to automation, reducing the burden of manual view real-time activity. data entry and removing human error. As we all continue to manage the impacts Introhive, for example, sits in the space of Covid-19, law firms are struggling to between a firm’s email exchange and CRM maintain and protect relationships as a to collect information passively and sync growing number of contacts are lost, the contacts and activities automatically. This result of corporate ensures a complete and restructures designed to accurate database, while drive short-term cost If your firm has freeing up valuable time for reductions for enacted furloughs or people to spend on more organisations around the productive tasks that benefit world. Losing a point of restructured itself, clients. contact at a prospect or it’s possible you’ve With Introhive’s Cleanse client account can lead to lost even more solution, firms can also rest long-term problems, relationship capital assured that data is kept ranging from client with your client base squeaky clean, thanks to dissatisfaction, to a data-enrichment and reduction in matters or, machine-learning processes even worse, losing the running behind the scenes to relationship. Furthermore, if your firm has capture title changes among other key enacted furloughs or restructured itself, it’s details. Solicitors can prepare for meetings possible you’ve lost even more relationship with a ‘pre-meeting digest’, which provides capital with your client base. them with relevant information about In a recent report, PwC said that clients to save time spent searching for that relationship capital is simultaneously a information. business’s most valuable asset and the least As 2020 comes to a close, and firms valued, visible and managed. In spite of the begin thinking about their 2021 success fact that the business and practice of law is roadmaps, understanding the technologies built on a foundation of relationships, that can support their relationships will be relationship capital is easily and often an integral part of the planning process. By forgotten – particularly as it relates to the leveraging these technologies and using AI value chain of the firm as a whole. While and automation, firms can protect their individual solicitors are certainly careful to relationship capital and – better still – grow manage their client contacts, the firm needs that asset in the coming year.

For more information, visit: www.introhive.com

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 26 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

Data points for

increased profitability Gareth Thomas, practice group leader of the Intapp marketing and business development practice in EMEA, says law firms can increase revenue by investing in integrated data

n the world of professional history allows firms to reflect on key data services, the ‘three Rs’ are points, including what they’ve charged I retention, reputation and revenue clients in the past, and whether those – with revenue being the most engagements were profitable. Firms can important by far. By measuring revenue, then use that information to ensure firms can better understand their own appropriate staff are allocated to matters profitability and growth. Although distinct and that they’re billing at an appropriate from one another, business development rate, thereby improving operational and pricing – two disciplines with the efficiency, resource planning, and overall greatest effect on revenue – share one profitability. common requirement: data. However, firms can’t simply rely on historical data to gain a competitive Connecting past and present advantage. They must also leverage current, to the future real-time data to provide a more holistic Business development teams need data – view of performance. Lawyers, for example, experience history data, in particular – to record new time entries, client interactions, respond to RFPs and to develop and deploy requests and other vital information on a key-client programmes. Understanding of daily basis. By comparing current and fee earners’ histories, capabilities and historical data, a firm’s business backgrounds gives clients assurance that the development and pricing teams can get a firm is qualified to handle their matters. sense of what’s working well, and then act This data can also help to shape talent accordingly. Armed with information from development and addresses the increase in both past and present, these teams can help diversity requirements in RFPs. to drive the firm’s profitability and growth. Within the pricing sphere, firms need accurate fee estimates, time and billing rates Supporting success with and institutional history to price matters for data integration clients or prospects correctly. Pricing Centralised, connected, accessible data lets

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 27 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

business development and pricing teams success, firms must invest in technology deliver maximum profitability, and provides that centralises data for firm-wide access firms with the chance to evolve operations. and competitive insights. Teams can work more quickly and With this need in mind, Intapp has effectively than before, resulting in happier developed a unified platform, purpose-built clients and higher profitability. to support the needs of the connected law Unfortunately, many firms lack a firm. Intapp OnePlace allows teams across centralised process or system that would the entire firm to access, sort, connect and allow their teams to easily access the data share the data they need, when they need it, they need to work effectively. Data is often all via the Intapp Secure Cloud. Users can scattered throughout the firm, siloed within find and leverage valuable data – disconnected systems and storage. It may information that once remained locked in be located in digital files such as Microsoft disconnected spreadsheets or lost in Excel spreadsheets, pdfs and emails. It may personal emails – simply by searching be stored on personal hard drives or within within Intapp OnePlace. private departmental The platform also provides databases. Data may even When searching insights into how data relates be held on physical media, to information about other which presents a high risk for scattered, crucial aspects of the law of being inaccessible, unintegrated data, firm’s business, such as its outdated, or lost. people often don’t experience and pricing When searching for know where to start history. Additionally, AI- scattered, unintegrated looking, or who driven recommendations can data, people often don’t to ask for access. help professional services know where to start teams to craft innovative looking, or who to ask for They frequently strategies that can serve to access. They frequently encounter silos improve business outcomes encounter silos that and strengthen prevent them from accessing information clients relationships. easily, if it can be accessed at all. Even if an Ultimately, a centralised and connected individual can locate the necessary data, it’s source of data can be the platform for often extremely difficult and time- launching firms to a whole new level of consuming to assimilate and aggregate that efficiency, accuracy and profitability. Teams data, and then to derive insights from it. will no longer waste time searching for This means that firms can’t provide work of potentially outdated data in hidden the highest quality and efficiency for their locations across the firm. Instead, clients. As a result, clients may take their professionals can leverage intelligent business elsewhere, and the firm’s revenue, insights, work more closely with their reputation and retention rate will all suffer. clients and brainstorm new and better ways of operating. Integrating with Intapp OnePlace Integrated data truly provides the key to Understanding that data provides the a brighter and more productive future – for cornerstone for revenue growth and overall firms, their people and their clients.

For more information, visit: www.intapp.com/intapp-oneplace

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 28 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

Power to reprocess

Mike Giles, finance director at Fieldfisher, says the firm has successfully moved to managing several things differently in 2020; further change may be in store and evergreen from sa.global is the system to support it

any law firms had to adapt very have the evergreen legal platform from quickly in early 2020, and sa.global sitting behind all this change – a M Fieldfisher was no exception – switch the firm made back in 2017. “From ramping up very large-scale the management point of view, it has working from home, of course, been incredibly useful because I can get streamlining collaboration and hold of important information much communications for those now working faster than used to be the case. That has in even more dispersed teams, and also enabled us to push forward with key tackling many a business process that projects faster – projects which we may still have relied on people’s would always have been dealing with at proximity. some point, but where the need for Mike Giles, the firm’s finance director, change had now suddenly accelerated says it has been particularly helpful to with lockdown.”

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 29 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

The cloud-based system harnesses of automating that reporting instead.” Microsoft Dynamics 365 capabilities, and This could be especially beneficial at a that means that “imagination is almost time firms need to manage the business the limiting factor – it can potentially do through so much macroeconomic so much,” says Giles. “The question has uncertainty. “It takes our management always been, how much can we make reporting team away from number- work within the firm? Change is never crunching and allows them to spend the easiest thing to bring about in a law more time on the analysis and firm, and you need to wean people off interpretation of that data – and, of some old ways of working gradually to course, the more you look, the more you achieve buy-in.” can find. Small, incremental changes But is this the moment for more aren’t necessarily visible to the lawyers significant transformation that a immediately. But, as you become better platform like evergreen could support at interpreting the data, you’re better – the so-called ‘burning platform’ able to highlight trends and opport- moment from which there’s no return? unities that were hard to see in the past. The overarching aim of evergreen is to “Of course, day-to-day visibility of connect data across multiple business activity is also incredibly important at areas – financial, marketing, matter and the moment – monitoring to get early talent management – for improved warning of any drop-off or pick-up in process and decision-making in the work areas if possible, as that is an early round. Giles is keen to explore plenty of indicator of future billings and cashflow.” the functionality, but says it’s financial Fieldfisher was relieved to see less process that is the game-changer in impact on activity levels than it had terms of his priorities in recent months. feared in March, Giles says, but is “It does exactly what we need in monitoring developments around the terms of the core accounting. We’re second wave of the virus to ensure the moving toward the elimination of a lot of business is as prepared as it can be. historic spreadsheets, a place that data More generally, he adds, introducing would be dumped for reporting workflow automation can increase management information, with the aim process consistency across practices.

“As you become better at interpreting the data, you’re better able to highlight trends and opportunities that were hard to see in the past.”

Mike Giles, finance director, Fieldfisher

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 30 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

“During the lockdown period our people evergreen platform to help reconcile. have had to work remotely, so old processes involving paper and wet Team tactics signature approvals don’t work. Tasks As well as trying to improve processes, have had to be redesigned and the firm is looking to use technology to automated using the technology now build out teams for client service available, which has undoubtedly been delivery. When it was smaller, he says, it an efficiency gain for the firm going was easy to identify individuals with the forward. skills for particular pieces of work, but as “We had been pushing to get rid of the firm grows it’s increasingly difficult manual cheque-signing for years, and to maintain that approach. lockdown forced the change through. He explains: “A key priority for You could envisage a point where paper improved financial management and becomes almost entirely removed from matter planning is the ability to tap into the billing process as well, to the point people’s skillsets without necessarily where the bill is fully electronic.” knowing the individuals all that well But more than ever, certainty over – pulling together an international team data and “one version of the truth” is for a client, with a specific combination required across systems to avoid of languages and experience, for confusion. “We’re trying to ensure that example. the data we all see is consistent – and if “You can search across people’s we have different views of data, to backgrounds and their current understand why they’re different or how availability, and bring them together they work together. quickly.” That’s more an aspiration for “I’m always surprised by how difficult the firm than a current reality, he admits. it can be to get an agreed headcount It will require more investment alongside figure for a firm – you can approach it in sa.global on the HR side, with potential several different ways, depending on for creating new industry- or business- exactly what it is that you want to count.” specific apps on top of the core suite. That’s an example of the sort of The pair are also in the early stages of information he’s now looking to the collaborating on the concept of a new

“A key priority for improved financial management and matter planning is the ability to tap into people’s skillsets without necessarily knowing the individuals that well.”

Mike Giles, finance director, Fieldfisher

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 31 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

hub to help fee earners to be as productive about eight a year, which keeps things very as possible with their day – a one-stop-shop current. As a law firm, of course, we’re concept where it’s possible to view relevant more accustomed to having one upgrade management data alongside the financial every six months, if not annually. information that’s connected to a particular “The product is updated very regularly, client. any security bugs are fixed, and we see a “It could show the work ongoing, better version coming through every outstanding activity or bills, and perhaps month. pull in newsfeeds about a client or its sector “It’s very important to keep testing using artificial intelligence,” he explains. everything, however, and we’ve now “It’s relevant information introduced automatic testing that you would otherwise – software to test the need to search for – it’s “You will be able to software – which is immediately there, waiting complete your time effectively building a – so partners are kept recording or work on workflow for testing.” informed about their documents through That means one further clients and matters. the hub – it just change Giles has needed to “You will be able to becomes the place manage is the operational complete your time dynamic of his finance recording or work on you go to work.” systems team, who are documents through the continuously monitoring and hub – it just becomes the Mike Giles, finance updating in the background place you go to work.” director, Fieldfisher as the firm follows its own path of continuous Update action improvement. Other avenues he’s now The advantages of a cloud-hosted rather exploring include options for tying in more than on-premises system are well-known – aspects of HR management, and resilience, flexibility and “almost infinitely automating the consolidation of the scalable as well,” Giles says. accounts of the various Fieldfisher entities. “One major change for us has been to a “That would take yet more time away programme of much from number-crunching exercises, more regular software and free the team to add even more updates – there are strategic value in future,” he says. For more information, visit: www.saglobal.com/legal

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 32 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

A strategy of healthy scepticism Eddie Hartman, partner at Simon-Kucher & Partners, recommends a more realistic view of changes in the legal landscape

e are told, time and again, that we associate can rapidly spin up their own firm, have built our industry smack on armed with little more than RingCentral, W the San Andreas fault, but decades Clio Suite and Litera Desktop. No offices pass and the big disruption does required, let alone a common reception not come to pass. Perhaps the predicting area.

pundits simply forget how very resistant the This is unlikely to exert much pressure practice of law has always been to both on the big-dollar areas of law. However, it external and internal change. may very well increase crowding in the A wise lawyer should be a healthy competitive small- and solo-law arena, sceptic. Healthy scepticism takes a long where 59% of America’s lawyers currently view of change. It says that, while it may be practice, according to one recent report. true high waters have never breached our Carrying an average $145,500 in law school profession’s walls, it still wouldn’t hurt to debt, to say nothing of other student loans, learn to swim. younger lawyers in the US should also be In some quarters, however, we see expected to drive fees down as they attempt unhealthy scepticism. Affected individuals to build their practices. have become so numb to major change failing to materialise that they now deny Customer bargaining power change is possible. If panicking is an We are experiencing the rise of professional unhealthy response to threatening news, negotiators for legal purchasing. This is a utterly refusing to adapt or evolve is just as fundamental shift from engaging with a bad, only in the opposite direction. general counsel, who may have come from a A reasonable assessment begins with a law firm, will have a stake in the levelheaded evaluation of the potential relationship after negotiations as overseer of sources of change. A useful framework is the engagement, and is primarily concerned the ‘five forces’ structure pioneered by with the quality of the work. Contrast this Michael Porter. This allows us to with the new breed of negotiator, who has systematically identify risks to our status no direct role in the engagement, and may quo. One is supplier bargaining power, work in legal ops, the CFO’s office or, which plays less of a role in the current legal increasingly, procurement. In short, your economic environment, but let’s take the new counterparty worries less about the other four in turn. relationship and worries more about the expense. Threat of new entrants Increasingly, they also have the tools to Remember fusion suites? These were keep expenses low. Automated tools from designed to allow friendly law firms to share companies like Wolters Kluwer now use office space – a common reception area, for machine learning to keep ever-tighter example – and thereby cut costs. Innovative scrutiny on invoices, spotting small for its time, the concept seems quaint now oversights that might have gone unnoticed that any sufficiently dissatisfied law firm with human review.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 33 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL BRIEFING 5P

Threat of substitutes anticipated or feared. In fact, a 2017 survey After 13 years of stiff resistance, the US has conducted by UK firm Kingsley Napley finally followed the example set by the UK’s found “only 12% of ABSs surveyed used any Legal Services Act of 2007 (and regulatory form of external finance”. change in Australia before it), allowing full But the healthy sceptic also notes that ownership of a law firm by non-lawyers. the cumulative impact of these challenges is Currently limited to the state of Arizona, mounting. What would constitute a other regions of the US are poised to follow, moderate response? including California; whether they will One option would be to adopt a actually take the plunge is an open commercial posture that does not expose question. the firm to risk, but provides a better fit for It is an auspicious moment for an uncertain future. For example: alternatives to traditional legal practice, given the simultaneous entry of all four • Relationship models The economy is major accounting and consultancy firms moving away from traditional brand loyalty, (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC) into American with more emphasis on financial models legal practice, which generated an that build on recurring revenue. Bluntly, estimated $1.2bn in 2017. Overall, the that’s what a retainer is. However, we see ‘alternative legal service provider’ market client interest in developing a deeper enjoys annual growth of 12.9%, far relationship, incorporating traditional ‘paid outstripping the estimated 5.3% growth in membership’ perks, such as priority access law firm billings for 2019. to senior partners. This is a low-risk way to foster loyalty. Internal competition (rivalry) • Versioning In most transactions today, Who could have predicted how Covid-19 we’re given a choice among options. By would accelerate the adoption of remote contrast, the provisioning of legal services is work? Elimination of traditional geographic generally ‘prescriptive’. The lawyer tells the barriers could have a profound impact on client what she needs. In working with competition between established players, forward-looking law firms, I’ve encouraged potentially allowing ‘big city’ firms to them to try adopting ‘optionality’ or compete directly with high-street lawyers. ‘versioning’ – and they tell me that the It also opens the door for big law to attract response has been highly enthusiastic. We and integrate talent from areas with a lower can all admit that there’s more than one cost of living – and lower expectations of way to approach a given issue – the extent compensation. Major Silicon Valley of pre-trial work, for example. Putting more companies have already started down this control in clients’ hands does not create a path. significant departure from how most firms work today, but it is a small change that may A healthy response yield big benefit. I doubt that readers of this are panicking. There’s a Scandinavian proverb which Many have seen these factors play out in notes that ocean walls are usually built no the past with little lasting impact. Consider higher than would have been necessary to the introduction of non-lawyer ownership. prevent the last flood. We are always Five years after the first ABS licences were unprepared for the next great wave. granted, fewer than 1 in 10 UK law firms Whatever the odds are that the legal had non-lawyer ownership, and most of profession will see true change in the next these were already-established firms that five years, it never hurts to learn to swim. restructured for tax purposes or to offer This starts with adopting commercial equity to talented senior practices that are more likely professionals. It’s hardly the to keep you afloat, regardless disruption that was of prevailing conditions. For more information, visit: www.simon-kucher.com

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 34 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

Industry views

Catch the training Catch the training DoinRule Legal makers, says firms TheDorigen strength Sykes, ofmanaging 36 Alan Blanchard at Apiax 38 unobtrusivedirector, iTrain security Legal, says says the time is ripe for firms Ian Raine at iManage innovation and disruption says access controls of how clients receive the and analytics are key to legal advice they need for secure and productive regulatory compliance homeworking

Catch theg Catch theg CallingDorigen quality Sykes, managing AnDorigen IT identity Sykes, managing crisis? 40 Valdirector, Fox, IT iTrain director Legal at , 42 Andydirector, Bevan iTrain at Pulsant Legal, says says firms Boodle Hatfield, says says firms the IT department needs Oosha was the right choice support to reconcile several for outsourced IT support strategic roles

Catch theg Catch theg TheLorem adoption Sykes, managing of MindDorigen the Sykes, time managing 44 USdirector, agility iTrain Legal, 46 Daviddirector, Lumsden iTrain at Legal Enable, says firms Phil Muller at Williams Lea says firms on the route to transforming on the year UK law firms firm compliance with time- have looked across the pond recording policy for models of efficiency Catch theg Catch theg IntoLorem agile Sykes, action managing ADorigen collaborative Sykes, managing risk 48 Jonnydirector, Watkinson iTrain Legal at , 50 culturedirector, iTrain Legal, says firms NetMotion and Nick says firms Guy Adams at Intapp Hayne at Quiss on the offers his top five for more needs of an agile workforce consistent risk management

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 35 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW Rule makers Future success for law firms will hinge on how efficiently their insight is digitised, updated and delivered, says Alan Blanchard at Apiax

aw firms have been exploring new ways of engaging, serving and offering “Law firms have not always been L more value to their often time-poor sufficiently motivated to change clients using technology for years – but their business models, but the the arrival of the pandemic has clearly added some legal industry is now very ripe for urgency to the digitisation journey. technology-driven disruption. If firms Alan Blanchard, head of business development in the UK for Apiax – a startup that supports firms to don’t respond to this environment, offer their clients clear app-based answers in highly they place themselves at risk.” complex regulatory scenarios – says: “Law firms have not always been sufficiently motivated to Alan Blanchard, business development (UK), change their business models, but the legal industry Apiax is now very ripe for technology-driven disruption. If firms don’t respond to this environment, they place themselves at risk. “We’ve seen technology swoop in and sweep >> away long-term players in many other industries,

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 36 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS >>

with no regard for their status, expertise or longevity. As natural language processing enables “Clients typically still turn to machines to parse and process ever more technical their law firm when they have a language, legal advice itself will be less valued.” Differentiation instead shifts to how that advice problem, and a lawyer considers is delivered – how it’s presented and all the different dependencies communicated to address clients’ problems as to generate their advice. Apiax efficiently as possible. That’s why Apiax partners technology automatically assesses with law firms to transform their legal content into the dependencies, so that the client “digital rules”, which clients know they can trust to can effectively serve themselves an produce the right answers, says Blanchard. “Today, clients typically still turn to their law answer.” firm when they have a problem, and a lawyer considers all the different dependencies to generate Alan Blanchard, business development (UK) their advice.” That is their traditional value Apiax proposition. “Apiax technology automatically assesses the dependencies, so that the client can effectively serve themselves an answer.” “compliance by design,” says Blanchard – The law firm, meanwhile, sees internal technology that can lead to a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for efficiencies of its own. “They can re-use content somebody trying to sell a financial product, for across a range of clients and contexts, and example. One day a particular proposition gets the proactively approach clients with answers to green light. The next, following a legal change, it’s a relevant questions they haven’t yet asked red warning. Users don’t need to concern themselves.” themselves with the compliance process, just act on the result. Coded to comply The capability does depend on how codified the Knowledge ability legal field is in the first place, explains Blanchard The team at Apiax works in partnership with law – so some areas are more obvious targets for firms’ legal innovation and technology teams to technology to change the game than others. Out in help them support their clients with similar front is financial services, for example, where the digitised delivery outcomes. “The law firm brings level of regulatory detail lends itself to binary the content and its trusted relationships, and we answers, he says. Examples include cross-border package it up for a faster, simpler way through all fund distribution and investment advice in wealth the complexity,” says Blanchard. management work. He adds that a further potential use case for apps Finance is also an area that can involve an is firms’ internal knowledge management efforts. especially time-consuming journey of ensuring Of course, this is another realm where the compliance before an action can occur, he explains. underlying rules can often be changing fast and a “Products must be analysed for suitability in light little extra efficiency can make a big difference. of multiple rules and regulations before they’re “You keep track of all the changes in what has sold. That can involve a lot of work, extremely now become a knowledge management resource – expensive resources to do the work, and clearly and if a lawyer or team later leaves, the history of very bad consequences if it isn’t done. knowledge remains.” “Furthermore, finance is a fast-moving area, As law firms review their strategies in light of where the law is changing all the time in different the latest huge changes to their landscape, one jurisdictions – and people must option is to review how both clients quickly adapt the ways they work to and people internally access the those changes to be compliant.” content they need and follow some of For more information, visit: The answer to this is to achieve www.apiax.com the rules.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 37 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW The strength of unobtrusive security Cybercriminals are seeing advantage in a time of heightened fear and uncertainty. Even before the pandemic, client calls for insight into firms’ security strategies were rapidly on the rise. And employees now present a potential further risk – the avoidance of approved systems and processes when working from home. The solution needs to be comprehensive and pervasive, but also unobtrusive, says Ian Raine, vice president of product management at iManage

s lockdowns return in autumn 2020, all Ian Raine, vice president of product management organisations must consider the at iManage, says a single, comprehensive system is a A complex combination of risks they critical part of the effort. “Content passing between present. At the same time, many have parties is at the very centre of what law firms do – strongly indicated that significantly more frequent and now you suddenly have many more possible agile working will remain in the picture even when versions of that content on the move.” It’s one social distancing hopefully no longer does. positive that this period has also seen a surge in For law firms, this requires careful thought about content’s digitisation, so documents can be how people work together effectively when they searched for and consumed online, he says. But it all aren’t sitting together – collaboratively producing needs to be risk managed. “Sensitive client material and sharing documents that contain highly needs to be top of lawyers’ minds whenever and sensitive, valuable or competitive information. wherever they are working remotely, and it must be Companies’ patent documents, for example, can be stored in secure repositories.” worth billions. Briefing’s Legal IT landscapes There is ever more potential for hasty email research for 2020 found 87% of firms’ technology attachments in our new normal and, of course, leaders had seen an increase in the number of collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams are fast clients requesting security audits to ensure establishing themselves as the main form of compliance with their guidelines (and that was communication. “Firms should embrace the before the pandemic), and industry regulators also technology – but that quick chat and share can require timely, well-managed reporting. suddenly lead to data out in the wild,” explains As with all work, these requests must be Raine. So, they need to be that much more mindful completed efficiently, while of course minimising of reinforcing the central position of their >> risk of a reputation-damaging breach and data loss. document management system. “iManage can

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 38 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 INDUSTRY VIEWS SPONSORED EDITORIAL >>

Welcome delegation Risk management is always a balance, and firms “The best storage solution is a will also be mindful of helping remote working secure system that’s as easy as teams to access what they need easily enough to possible for people to use, and work productively. For example, some are now where the security and risk controls introducing default ‘need-to-know’ policies. Raine explains: “Preventing lawyers reusing appropriate are as unobtrusive as possible to content, even from work for previous clients, can increase adoption.” make them less efficient and increase costs. And if a law firm experiences a data breach, while that’s Ian Raine, vice president, clearly concerning, need-to-know security ensures product management, iManage that it’s a subset of content at risk, based on particular credentials.” It’s for iManage, therefore, to help law firms to make work as straightforward govern content for client matters that is sitting in as possible for people, so they work with security, Teams channels, but the best storage solution is a rather than trying to find ways around it. secure system that’s as easy as possible for people to “That’s why we have enabled some roles to use, and where the security and risk controls are as override security and search for anything – a head unobtrusive as possible to increase adoption.” of knowledge management or GC, for example. We’re also seeing firms moving further toward What’s the usage? searching for the expert rather than the document. Whichever tools people are using, there’s the risk of Lawyers can simply search for content they’re cyberattack. Even with two-factor authentication, permitted to access, but using iManage RAVN’s AI people are inevitably more exposed outside the technology they can also locate people most office environment, and phishing attacks have associated with documents that are locked down – evolved to take advantage of the pandemic. Every people who may be able to grant permission. The respondent to PwC’s annual survey of law firms user only needs to justify why they need access.” said it had experienced a security incident this year, Using iManage Security Policy Manager, with a significant rise in ransomware attacks in moreover, an approach like this can be scaled for particular. Nation-state intelligence services also the organisation’s millions of documents more increasingly regard firms as highly valuable sources efficiently. “Previously, it would have fallen to the of information they can leverage geopolitically. firm’s central IT or risk function to decide, but Firms need sophisticated user-monitoring, says today the system also enables targeted delegation,” Raine – and iManage Threat Manager provides this he explains. “You can pass the responsibility for by leveraging historical information in the system. security definitions and adjustments to a named “If someone enters the system with stolen matter partner.” Firms could also choose to grant credentials, it’s likely they won’t move around as a access to everyone working within one practice genuine firm user would. By monitoring users’ group, regardless of their role, potentially with activity, firms can compare current and past some client-level security access layered on top. behaviour patterns, and trigger alerts for Client concern about the specifics of law firm investigation where something appears anomalous.” security policy like these – tracked through Machine learning also helps firms to track typical Briefing Legal IT landscapes – has only increased use patterns in pockets of a firm, such as practice in recent years. Lockdowns are now back, while areas, to spot deviations from the norm. If some some firms are simultaneously parting ways with lawyers aren’t using the DMS as much as they were, people. Secure document management with or are accessing documents at unusual times, they options for need-to-know access, threat detection may be working in other ways at odds with the and usage analytics, will be critical for keeping firm’s security policy. “Usage analytics enable more sensitive client information protected and targeted reminders and adoption training,” says professionals productive enough for client service Raine. However, people may currently be working to keep delivering very irregular hours – with good reason, of course. results in these “You can’t trigger alerts for everything slightly extraordinarily For more information, visit: unusual – too many false positives will keep challenging www.imanage.com/product/security security teams busy but away from the real risks.” times.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 39 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

INDUSTRY CASE STUDY Calling quality Val Fox, IT director at Boodle Hatfield, says choosing Oosha led to a significant improvement in the firm’s outsourced IT support for its people in the middle of lockdown

he IT team has had a particularly busy promise of Oosha – which has now been operating time of it working out all the many the helpdesk since May 2020. A first-line support T remote working needs of 2020. team handles any user queries over the phone or by However, Val Fox, IT director at Boodle email; they can be escalated to the second line if Hatfield, had been looking to replace one element necessary, while a third line is available for any of her strategy – the firm’s outsourced helpdesk infrastructure problems. The ‘new normal’ of service – as long ago as autumn 2019. “The users just weren’t using it,” she says – a pretty clear impetus to make a change if ever there was one. “Our people didn’t feel that they were getting a good service, and they were calling up my A first-line support team handles any internal team with their queries instead.” It was the user queries over the phone or by opposite of what an outsourced service is designed email; they can be escalated to the to provide – adding internal work rather than second line if necessary, while a third relieving it. line is available for any infrastructure Productive and proactive problems After a chance encounter at a conference (a physical >> one, indeed), Fox settled on the managed IT service Val Fox, IT director, Boodle Hatfield

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 40 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS >>

For more information, visit: www.oosha.co.uk

preparing for multiple video remotely, nevertheless. “They quickly meetings and getting to grips built up the necessary credibility with with the nuances of collaboration people who were working from home, and tools have naturally produced plenty today we regularly receive positive feedback of calls in the first category. But an from people.” approachable team with timely service is also important generally, when there just “isn’t the Team time person sitting nearby to ask in that moment,” says Oosha is also well integrated with Boodle Hatfield’s Fox. Oosha is entrusted with playing its part to internal IT team – each Friday there’s a review of support individual productivity and morale at what that week’s user queries to capture learnings for may be an exceptionally challenging time for people continuous improvement, and Oosha takes part in personally as well as professionally. one daily ‘standup’ meeting each week to stay She was looking for three main things from that abreast of progress on the most significant business partner in selection, she says – experience of the projects. sector, evidence of value for money, and a close Of course, through dealing with fewer day-to- relationship. Oosha ticked all three boxes, but it’s day obstacles, Fox’s team can now focus that much the final factor that has particularly impressed her. more of their energy on delivering such strategic “It’s a real joint endeavour – as well as fixing projects efficiently and effectively. Unsurprisingly, problems, Oosha is proactive at highlighting many things in their project book at the moment opportunities for user training, improvement and are looking to an increasingly agile-working trends it sees in the industry that we could turn to landscape in future – new laptops are on the cards, our advantage,” she says. For example, it has been as is a Microsoft Exchange Online migration, and a able to flag challenges other firms have experienced desk-booking app ready to see people safely back with upgrading or moving between different into office space when the time is right. products, which has enabled the IT team to be In the meantime, Boodle Hatfield can be more on the front foot for users when change confident it has the support of a trusted partner to occurs. As well as the managed IT arrangement, keep some of the fundamental factors in people’s Oosha also offers law firms infrastructure-as-a- productivity on track each day. service and cloud virtual desktop services, either via its own data centre network or Microsoft Azure. Fox was also impressed that they proactively recommended having an Oosha team member onsite at the firm’s London office to floor-walk and get more familiar with the world of the firm quickly “It’s a real joint endeavour – as – “something we haven’t seen before,” she says. In well as fixing problems, Oosha the event, Covid-19 prevented that physical journey is proactive at highlighting from happening, of course, but the effort to get to know the users they were supporting continued opportunities for user training, improvement and trends.”

Val Fox, IT director, Boodle Hatfield

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 41 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

An IT identity crisis? Andy Bevan, cloud sales specialist at Pulsant, discusses the changing purpose and pressures of law firms’ IT departments, and recommends some strategic actions to offer them greater support

he IT department has traditionally strategies using IT expertise. been the caretaker of the firm, IT is no longer seen as a support function and T keeping technology systems and has become widely recognised as a driver of processes in check and meltdowns at innovation, but opinions are divided. The bay. But IT has found itself with a dual purpose department is seen as an enabler of innovation by as the requirement for digital transformation has 40% of IT decision-makers and 45% of business intensified. In response, some CIOs are splitting leaders. Yet over half of IT decision-makers IT departments in two, with one team focusing (58%) and business leaders (55%) still believe the on keeping the firm running and the other primary role of IT is either a helpdesk or focusing on digital innovation. The latest technical support function, or having research commissioned by Pulsant seeks to responsibility for maintaining and running answer what this means for the future of the IT business-critical systems. team. IT teams are experiencing high levels of stress The research finds the majority (93%) of and anxiety as they attempt to balance being organisations have a representative from the IT both the caretaker of the business and the driver team on the board or leadership team, and 87% of innovation. Over a third (34%) of IT decision- said IT is involved in setting the strategy for the makers said one of the top challenges for their year ahead. IT is being given a voice at the teams is having too great a workload and not highest level and businesses are taking enough time to complete it. Almost two-thirds progressive steps towards defining their (65%) admitted to feeling under increasing >>

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 42 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS >>

The pandemic seems to have reinforced the importance of IT balancing its new role as a driver of innovation with its traditional caretaker role

pressure to keep their organisations running in technical or business-focused. They are unlikely the last 12 months (even before the pandemic?). to be both, so consider a senior management And 80% said this has had a negative impact on a virtual team to contribute formally alongside. personal level, including experiencing anxiety • Create a clearly defined channel for and increased stress that could result in burnout, suggestions and initiatives from across the absence from the businesses, or resigning from business. the business. It’s clear that being recognised as • It is through accountable ownership of the the driver of innovation can come at a cost. function, with a measurable outcome, that Over three-quarters (77%) of IT decision- initiatives will be owned and managed correctly. makers also said that their organisations’ expectations of IT have risen in the last 12 Understand what innovation means for months, the most common reasons being: your firm greater focus on security and compliance (45%); • Consider the business outcome required from expecting IT to work with more areas of the innovation initiatives. Don’t be led by the business (39%); expecting IT to support, and technology itself. It’s often the case that what a have knowledge of, a broader range of vendor wants (to offer?) isn’t the same as what technologies (38%); increased pressure to update your firm needs. ageing infrastructure (36%); and the expectation • Define how you will measure success and to deliver projects quicker (35%). These rising understand clearly what success looks like, expectations could be contributing to the stress whether financial, operational, or another factor. and anxiety IT departments are experiencing. • Understand your checkpoints throughout the In order to help them fulfil their new purpose process and be confident enough to halt a and deliver on these changing expectations, IT project if your measures aren’t being met. decision-makers want more budget, resources • Consider targeted external IT support for and training, as well as a better work-life balance. your innovation projects. This can be at the Interestingly, the pandemic seems to have implementation or deployment stage, but can reinforced the importance of IT balancing its continue - if well defined - into a managed new role as a driver of innovation with its service. traditional caretaker role. To help the IT • If you enlist external IT support, think about department find its equilibrium, firms will need and define your sign-off criteria fully, and ensure to find a way to free up their IT departments’ the vendor is bound by them. time to focus on what matters most – driving the • If opting for an ongoing managed service, business forward. consider the service level agreement carefully Here are some tips for how firms could and ensure that it matches your firm’s needs. mitigate these risks and take advantage of the The above should help when considering transformation opportunities in the years to how your innovation process and opportunities come: can be identified, managed and delivered to drive your Managing and identifying innovation firm forward, • Be clear about who owns, and is responsible faster. For more information, visit: for, innovation. www.pulsant.com • It’s likely that the owner will be either

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 43 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

The adoption of US agility

Firms now know they are more agile than they thought. Phil Muller, director of legal services at Williams Lea, says the pandemic has steered UK law firms to start thinking about how to streamline their operations more cost effectively and many are looking to US firms whose models deliver proven operational agility and cost savings

ack in the April issue of Briefing, our seen many US law firms embrace outsourcing own global head of technology at services – establishing teams managed by specialist B Williams Lea, Nick Morgan, spoke of a providers in centralised locations to support them growing demand for technology and with key functions, such as virtual secretarial automation to support service flexibility as well as support, billing and receivables, digital solutions, cost savings, driven by the Covid-19 crisis and document processing and marketing. Law firms associated economic fallout. These tough times that were doing this before the crisis have appear to be here to stay and firm leadership is discovered that, not only has it helped them to increasingly recognising the potential of the crisis to achieve longer-term optimum efficiency levels in drive positive change, including providing a their operations, but it also built up some greater competitive advantage to those law firms willing to resilience, which helped when the pandemic hit – transform operational functions and drive and maintaining productivity and cashflow became efficiency. To do so, they are taking their cue from paramount. Taking such steps with these functions, firms across the pond. followed by this context, has widened the gap >> For several years, and continuing today, we’ve between those law firms willing to innovate and

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 44 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS >>

It’s becoming clear now that law firms are seeing those more used to, and still the art of the possible when reimagining where relying on, traditional methods. their support teams can be located and how they However, leading global law could get the job done firms are recognising this and are beginning to act now. UK law firms were aware of several changes productivity and resources to build even greater rising to the surface before the pandemic – with efficiency, while keeping strong information many top leaders in recent years discussing the rise security measures in place. The Covid-19 crisis has of millennials and generation Z; increasing accelerated the pace of this change in the legal competition from ‘legal tech’ or ‘NewLaw’ firms sector and UK-based law firms are now thinking in that use technology to support, supplement and a way their US counterparts did several years ago. replace traditional methods of providing legal It’s becoming clear now that law firms are seeing services; and the ‘Big Four’ entering the the art of the possible when reimagining where competitive law firm market in recent years. The their support teams can be located and how they Big Four know something about agile working, could get the job done. The old mindset of the need having adopted a hybrid model of remote and office for secretaries, administrators and other support working over the last two decades. Certain staff always to be in the office and down the hall functions are located away from major cities with from fee earners has been disproved through expensive offices, but still with strong access to virtual working, as the pandemic has shown that local talent that can provide services like those for most business services staff can work perfectly well Thompson & Knight (see box below), combined remotely. As a top leader at a law firm said at a with intelligent workflow and data analytics tools virtual conference of global law firm leaders in to help measure and control utilisation rates, October: “One of the themes of our strategy, which has greater emphasis moving forward, is the future of work – getting more people working with agility and managing, ADVANTAGE IN ACTION supervising, and engaging with our people working in that great example of this “We want to create A innovative transformation competitive advantages to environment.” This is a unique is the Dallas-based law firm meet the changing needs of window of opportunity for Thompson & Knight, a highly our clients and the legal firms to virtualise their back- successful US law firm, with industry, including more agile office services and build a nearly 300 lawyers worldwide. ways of working, specialised platform that provides greater The firm has partnered with expertise and improved flexibility. The shifting Williams Lea to open an technology. landscape of the legal industry administrative resource centre The partnership with will spur those law firms in Columbus, Ohio, and has a Williams Lea will help the firm willing to innovate to transform dedicated team managing modernise and simplify the their operations, workflow cross-functional services, way we support clients and processes and data including graphic design and contribute value. The management, to become digital marketing, document restructure is underpinned by processing and administrative new processes and technology, smarter, more agile and stay support – all on an extended which will allow us to be ahead of the competition. basis. successful in modernising how As the firm’s managing we deliver services to our partner, Mark Sloan, explains: clients today and in the future.” For further information, visit: www.williamslea.com

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 45 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Mind the time David Lumsden, CEO at Enable, says improve both revenue and client satisfaction in challenging times through better core process such as time-recording

awyers love to work, but they hate ‘non-productive’ and boring It is still vital to enter time as soon L administrative tasks like billing and as possible after the work has been recording time – especially recording done. Most firms expect lawyers to time. record their time two or three days For lawyers to record time accurately, they need after working it but, inevitably, most to do so as contemporaneously as possible. There are now ‘intelligent’ tools for monitoring the work lawyers don’t. Memories fade that fee earners do, but this old rule still applies. This is because, in order to make full sense of the computer-generated statistics, and place them in context, they have to recall the day in question. • Underestimate how long they spent on a task. Therefore, it is still vital to enter time as soon as Evidence shows that, owing to a combination of possible after the work has been done. human cognitive biases, people will enter how long Most firms expect lawyers to record their time they think it should have taken, in an ideal world, two or three days after working it but, inevitably, rather than how long it actually took. most lawyers don’t. Memories fade and when they • Completely forget tasks that they undertook do get around to recording their time, some three to offline. seven days later, they are likely to: • Be unable to enter appropriately detailed narrative. Several consequences flow from this behaviour, all of them bad (see table at the top of p47). These things may well happen in combination – the volume of aged WIP will be extended, overall realisation will be down and clients may well grow annoyed with being sent late, inaccurate or unhelpful bills. Conversely, if lawyers can be encouraged to get their time in promptly, revenue and profits will increase and clients will be happier. Finally, in most firms revenue teams, heads of departments and even managing partners can spend an exorbitant amount of time emailing, discussing and meeting with individuals to try and push them to complete and close their billable time. This is >> especially true in the run up to end of month,

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 46 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS >>

CAUSE EFFECT RESULT It may delay a bill Loss of revenue Time is late It may miss a final bill Increase in working capital ‘lockup’ days Time is under-recorded It never gets billed Loss of revenue Narrative is poor The bill is rejected or delayed Loss of revenue Client dissatisfaction

quarter/half-year and end of financial year. The chasing missing time to enforce policies every day, exercise is incredibly time-consuming, expensive all year. and has varying results. The outcomes can be startling What can you do? Firms using systems such as RevenueManager have You need to find a way to motivate lawyers to get reported they are experiencing: their time in when expected – or even sooner • More speedy time entry by lawyers – due to the – without irritating them. While there are many system prompts ways to keep on top of time-recording, it is no • An increase in chargeable time recorded, as it is surprise that efficiency can be increased using being entered quicker once the work has been done technology – and Enable’s RevenueManager • Faster billing – as time is available to be billed (ERM) is one such example. sooner Let’s say that a firm specifies its fee earners • Faster payments – as bills reflect more recent should enter their time into the firm’s time- work done and with the requisite detail and recording system no more than three days after the accuracy work is done. If a lawyer meets these targets, they • Fewer client bill-related queries. shouldn’t be bothered by a system. However, after three days, a poor time-recorder will get a gentle reminder, showing the time missing from which days, so they can catch up and For more information, visit: post it to the system so it can be billed. The ERM www.enableplc.com/revenuemanager popup screen displays a customisable message, such as ‘Please record your time shown below’, or warns that continued breaches of policy will result in a line manager being informed. The screen also provides the exact reasons for the breach. This includes the days and times, and shows missing or open time that needs completing. When the popup appears, it’s already a policy breach and will increase the lawyer’s breach count. It will also have a dropdown of a list of reasons the user can choose, to record why they breached the policy – and with an option to add free text. Meanwhile, line managers and the finance team can receive information about policy breaches, missing time, and the steps that have been taken to recover it. Most of this happens automatically, so RevenueManager is also taking away strain and wasted effort by revenue teams, heads of departments and even managing partners when

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 47 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Into agile action Jonny Watkinson, enterprise sales manager, UK, NetMotion and Nick Hayne, head of professional services, Quiss Technology, discuss how technology is helping to create the agile law firm of the future today

s businesses struggle to remain providers of all kinds, the adoption of agile working competitive in the face of the pandemic, makes complete sense. Over the next few years we A recent news that Deloitte is preparing are likely to see working conditions change and to close four of its 50 UK offices and government regulation creep in, but the wheels are offer full-time remote working to 500 employees already in motion for remote work to become a surely points to a different future for many of our permanent part of our lives. knowledge-based businesses. Organisations of all Looking more specifically at law firms across the shapes and sizes, across all sectors, must now UK, the digital transformation journey undertaken consider how to implement agile-working styles, by most is generally centred on the deployment of particularly now that remote working is likely to technologies and solutions that deliver the greatest become a long-term part of these companies’ flexibility for dispersed workforces, with secondary working environments. goals that include improvements to the user The legal sector is no different. Current working experience and data security. conditions have forced many firms to reimagine the This new agile environment with dispersed mobility and future of the workplace. Fortunately, workforces is going to require a very different some firms had already started to embrace digital approach to collaboration, given that employees transformation ahead of our current circumstances. will naturally work at different times, and perhaps For many lawyers, one of the major challenges even from different time zones where the firm with agile working has been the inability to meet doesn’t have an office. Customer service will need face-to-face with clients, peers and various support an overhaul, too, if we are to keep customers happy teams. In the past, many of these employees would and maintain that all-important relationship. already have been considered agile – travelling At the same time, agile work can deliver a host of frequently and often working from home – but benefits, ranging from greater employee 2020 has pushed this to a completely new level. productivity and increased motivation, to a reduction in office-related costs, as will be the case Wheels in motion for Deloitte. With our population becoming more and more But what challenges are yet to be overcome? >> accustomed to interacting with remote service

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 48 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS >>

The reputational damage (on top of any punitive By engaging directly with an damages) would be a disaster for any law firm. organisation’s people, it becomes An agile workforce also needs to be more closely much easier to understand wants monitored. Any activity that includes visiting risky URLs and downloading unofficial apps can wreak and needs based on what’s working havoc, as they are a common way for ransomware well and what is not to be distributed. And no discussion about technology would be complete without mentioning compliance, especially in the legal sector. Everyone knows that failure to comply with regulations can prove a very costly exercise. On the one hand, the firm can face stiff fines from relevant regulatory bodies, but Connected technology there’s also the less tangible cost associated with a If a law firm genuinely wants to improve support damaged reputation. No organisation wants to deal for employees, the way to begin looking for answers with a raft of compliance investigations as a result is by soliciting opinions from those employees. By of its remote working policies. engaging directly with an organisation’s people, it Ensuring client data is secure must remain a becomes much easier to understand wants and critical focus for any firm, so the question is how to needs based on what’s working well and what is provide employees with the freedom to access not. internal systems and applications from anywhere, Taking those answers, and then investing in on any network, so they can connect, communicate technologies that solve specific problems, will go a and collaborate, while maintaining exceptional long way toward avoiding shadow IT and help with security standards. driving a positive mindset. From a technological point of view, there are many options to consider – The employee experience laptops, tablets, smartphones, and even hotdesks Finally, employees who are remote or mobile need – all requiring access to fast and reliable wi-fi and/ to be able to work from anywhere without a or mobile network access. negative impact on the experience. Nobody wants But agile working also requires a wider change their employees complaining about annoying in overall IT strategy. An agile workforce needs re-authentication issues or poor-quality video calls. services such as unified communication tools, team Indeed, the pandemic has seen a huge uptake in collaboration platforms and VPN technology videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom, Teams, among other things, which allow employees to Webex and Google Meet, although even these have work from anywhere. experienced growing pains, as they had to instigate Connectivity will be a key factor for staff major upgrades over a short period of time. working remotely, as firms try to meet the demands Nevertheless, the bottom line is that going agile of an increasingly mobile workforce. Ultimately, can be a win-win scenario for law firms and their people need encrypted and reliable connections people. Reports suggest that an agile workforce is that enable them to reach the organisation’s both more productive and happier, which is good applications and services quickly and easily. news for firms and their clients. We now have the Working in a disconnected environment means integrated technologies to help law firms with their workers can’t be as productive, ultimately leading ongoing digital transformation journey, with cloud to frustration and unhappy clients. solutions playing a significant role in introducing greater flexibility, resilience and security. Security concerns Recognising security as a top priority for any firm developing a remote working strategy means it’s critical to encrypt traffic on unknown or insecure For more information, visit: networks to avoid so-called man-in-the-middle www.netmotionsoftware.com/www.quiss.co.uk (MitM) attacks and prevent accidental data loss.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 49 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS A collaborative risk culture Guy Adams, general manager of leaders and professionals solutions at Intapp, outlines his five steps for establishing and improving a firm-wide risk management culture, and says it’s critical to follow a clear path to make it a reality

ver the past decade, increasing We’ve all noticed how a firm’s talent mirrors the regulation and public scrutiny actions and approaches of its leadership team. If O propelled risk management to its your leaders allocate little time to risk management rightful place at the top of law firms’ during strategy-setting conversations, or roll their agendas. But, despite this evolution, the risk team’s eyes whenever compliance is mentioned, you can’t remit often remains seen as a tick-box exercise – expect staff to maintain a positive attitude to it. one to be circumvented as often as possible. Rather, leaders must give risk and compliance The best leadership teams focus on empowering appropriate attention during every element of the whole firm to accept responsibility for risk strategy setting, and report on it regularly. management. Instead of seeing a potential blocker, these firms recognise the risk team as a key business Integrate risk into the business enabler. This evolution reduces internal friction, If you isolate risk management from the rest of the increases decision-making efficiency, and improves business, only bad things happen. At best, the firm the day-to-day working experience. will avoid issues through luck. At worst, those In order to successfully transition to a issues will eventually bubble up to the surface and collaborative, firm-wide approach to risk damage the business. The risk team bears the management, leaders need to take five key steps. responsibility for humanising their role and connecting with the rest of the firm, but leadership Set the tone from the top can encourage success by following a few simple It’s a well-established business principle that concepts: change effort fails without appropriate, visible • Day-to-day risk integration uses training and sponsorship IBM president Jim Whitehurst noted technology to raise awareness of red flags and culture change begins when leaders model the situations in which professionals should call the behaviour they want the organisation to emulate. risk team for advice. >>

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 50 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 SPONSORED EDITORIAL INDUSTRY VIEWS >>

After integrating risk management with the wider firm, the risk team must immerse themselves in its business context and provide support for real-life situations rather than hypotheticals

• Performance and pay levers reward staff for nuances of specific, unusual situations. The best demonstrating risk awareness. Telling people that technology solutions allow AI to handle the vast their reviews will include measures of risk majority of cases efficiently, and then highlight the awareness will drive the desired behaviour. remaining 10–20% for human analysis. In this way, • A culture of accountability emphasises that AI-enhanced conflicts checking frees time for risk everyone must feel a level of accountability teams to focus on cases where their expertise proportionate to their role. An attitude of ‘someone remains critical. else’s job’ isn’t going to cut it. Embracing change and best practice Leave behind the theoretical Progressive firms automate risk processes across After integrating risk management with the wider the matter lifecycle, focusing on objective and firm, the risk team must immerse themselves in its efficient conflicts clearance, risk scoring, active business context and provide support for real-life monitoring of clients and parties, and embedding situations rather than hypotheticals. This anti-money laundering and client due diligence behaviour is second nature to the best risk evaluation into matter-opening processes. They are professionals, who relish the chance to be closer to harnessing AI and machine learning to streamline the business, but others will need an adjustment conflicts processes and ensure compliance with period and require support from firm leadership. outside counsel guidelines and panel terms. As a Many firms have achieved symbiosis between result, they’re able to accelerate business risk management and commercial efficiency. At one acceptance, safeguard against reputational and prominent international law firm, preliminary financial damage, and focus on profitable work and conflicts checking takes place during initial efficient client services. business development. As a result, it’s able to seek In summary, as business complexity continues to new work within entire segments that have been increase, successful risk management will become provisionally vetted, reducing potential wasted even more important. The need for strong risk effort. management isn’t going away – it’s becoming the blind spot that could take down an entire firm. Enhance human intelligence with technology The best leadership teams acknowledge this Law firms must consistently consume and analyse changing environment and take proactive steps to data on a scale – and within timeframes – that improve their approach. A robust, pervasive risk simply aren’t feasible without technological management structure will deliver consistent assistance. The key to scaling data intelligence is success over time, and fewer sleepless nights for not wholesale replacement of humans with AI, but the leadership team. rather understanding how we can best support human skillsets with connective technology. In the realm of conflicts checking, for example, it’s critical to grasp how AI and humans can work better together. People are terrible at large-scale, For more information, visit: www.intapp.com/risk monotonous review, whereas AI struggles with the

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 51 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 REAR VIEWS

LAST WORD Response times

Ben Bruton, London litigation partner at Winston & Strawn, asks senior in-house legal and other leaders in the sector about coordinating responses to the huge range of business challenges that came to the surface with Covid-19 and lockdowns

Do you see similarities between managing the Tamer Nassar, managing director, Eternal immediate consequences of the pandemic and Energy (TN): The risks to business brought about those of the 2008 global financial crisis? are surprisingly similar. Once again, we have been looking at developing strategies to save businesses, Diane Dix, general counsel, Total Safety (DD): save jobs and adjust to what appears to be a new When lockdowns commenced around the world, normal. Now, as then, we are looking at various we were better prepared than we were in 2008, in strategies to reduce costs, such as remote working, part because this crisis came on gradually, so we cutting travel and other related expenses, shedding had time to consider the possible scenarios and plan value-add services such as consultants and the like, for them. We spent several weeks ensuring we had and renegotiating pricing with vendors. business-continuity and crisis-response plans in place, developing a communications plan, and Susan Dunn, founder and CEO, Harbour reviewing contracts for force majeure and other Litigation Funding (SD): The main difference relevant provisions. We did not have that luxury in between 2020 and 2008 that we have seen is that the 2008 financial crisis. What makes this crisis we did not see litigation emerge seeking funding different is that it has significant health and until a very long time after 2008. It seems people economic impacts, and it is truly global, both of which create a very different dynamic to prior crises. And our response strategies have been much more employee-focused.

Marc Michael, chief counsel, global dispute resolution, AES Corporation (MM): Unlike in the “We really didn’t have to change financial crisis, our first priority has been health and our methods of working during the safety. Everyone is concerned about maintaining previous crisis, although we did worry the safety of our workforce and customers. This has about the financial wherewithal of forced us to change the way we work at the plants and corporate offices. We really didn’t have to certain counterparties.” change our methods of working during the previous crisis, although we did worry about the financial Marc Michael, chief counsel, >> wherewithal of certain counterparties. global dispute resolution, AES Corporation

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 52 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 INDUSTRY VIEWS

were assessing their positions and knew they had case is successful. Inevitably, there may be some typically had six years to bring a claim. They impact on the businesses of particular defendants, therefore initially focused on rebuilding, not so we are paying even closer attention to this factor. litigation. This time we have already seen people If claimants need putting into administration in contacting us for funding of claims, because they order to protect and preserve their claim, we will have to act right now to save their businesses. This look to protect them that way. is one big difference. The other is that litigation funding was less widely used and understood in TN: On the whole, we sought to accommodate our 2008. In 2020 it’s used by every type of client, clients’ requests to suspend contracts, or otherwise including those who might well have used funding terminate them outside the scope of the actual in 2008 but weren’t being advised by their external terms of the agreement. In many cases, we also lawyers that it was an option. advised our clients to do the same, so they were not perceived as being opportunistic in their dealings with clients and vendors. Suffice to say, we have not The circumstances have put supply chains and been running straight to the contract in these trying contractual relationships under significant times, but taking rather a pragmatic view of things. pressure. What strategies have you deployed for engagement with contractual DD: We reviewed all our key contracts to ensure counterparties? we understood our contractual rights and obligations so that we were prepared to act swiftly MM: The workload in the legal team increased where necessary. We were also very proactive in dramatically. We received literally hundreds of engaging with our largest customers and suppliers notices claiming force majeure and/or change in to anticipate any disruption in services. And where law relating to the pandemic or the governmental projects have been delayed, we have been in regular response to it. Construction contractors have communication about scheduling to ensure that sought relief in meeting milestones, given the work could resume as soon as possible. In some disruption to travel and the difficulty in procuring cases we have been asked for price concessions, supplies, for example. Fuel suppliers warned that and we have asked our suppliers for price stay-at-home orders, and possible social unrest, concessions. Our experience has been that our could impair their ability to deliver fuel to our contractual counterparties are generally acting in facilities. We made an effort to compile and analyse good faith and trying to work together. these notices so that we could provide consistent guidance to all of our affected businesses. Tim Williams, senior counsel, dispute management, Wärtsilä Corporation (TW): We SD: A key issue is, of course, the solvency of have been working hard to keep customers, claimant counterparties and defendants alike, but suppliers and stakeholders informed and involved, we always pay close attention to that factor. The and to offer both short-term alternatives – such as number one question we always ask of any new remote monitoring of the equipment – and matter is how we and the claimant get paid if the medium- to long-term business continuity – how long will your safety spares last? We’ve found that there have been fewer shutdowns in the supply chain than slowdowns.

“Suffice to say, we have not been What are the key legal issues you’ve been running straight to the contract in contending with as a consequence of the these trying times, but taking rather a pandemic and government responses? pragmatic view of things.” Derrick Dale QC, Fountain Court Chambers (DDQC): In terms of commercial contracts, the Tamer Nassar, managing director, main focus has been analysing force majeure, >> Eternal Energy frustration and termination rights under contracts.

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 53 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 INDUSTRY VIEWS

In terms of insurance claims, analysing the scope of TN: We’ve found that an effective method of the cover for business interruption claims has been remote-team management has been to schedule centre stage, and I suspect that in addition to weekly individual calls to set objectives and review coverage, issues of causation and loss will all be the prior week’s accomplishments. Communication highly contested. between those calls ought to be sparse, and generally initiated by the team member, rather than TW: Along with everyone else, we have prioritised the manager. balancing our duties as an employer to provide a safe workplace, with compliance with applicable DDQC: Ensuring good levels of communication law, changes of law, the practical challenges of and teamwork within any litigation team is always restrictions on movement – we have a significant essential, and during the lockdown period we had field service offering – with the flurry of force to double down on this, as solicitors and barristers majeure notices and, of course, the follow-up navigated our ways through gearing up for remote contract notices that address events of delay. We hearings, which seem to be the new norm for the haven’t sought to rely on frustration and foreseeable future. Ensuring that we have the impossibility to end contracts as we are in long- requisite IT support to do this at all times has been term relationship businesses. We expect to see the essential. We have set up our large conference impact of hardship to come in terms of insolvency rooms such that we can use them to dial into events, and possibly even foolish calls on remote hearings, and have leaders and juniors in performance bonds, and we have worked hard on the same room while the hearing is going on, as alternative sources of supply, logistics and well as having the IT support on hand. transportation. The key words have been continuity and cashflow. We need to keep getting paid, and DD: I have led a global team based across various paying our bills. jurisdictions for many years. It has been a bigger challenge for colleagues who are accustomed to MM: In addition to force majeure and change-of- in-person engagement. They have learned to take law issues, we’ve had to consider whether official advantage of video tools and grown more patient governmental action in response to the virus may with background noise. As a leadership team we require us to provide relief to utility customers, or have focused on frequent communication with our may even impair our rights. employees, being as transparent as possible about the state of the business and actions we’re taking to address the challenges, and we have taken time to Do you have any advice about how to manage a joke with one another and have a little fun. When a team remotely in an effective manner? team is working remotely, and especially during a crisis, maintaining camaraderie and a positive TW: Get used to the technology, use it, and use it outlook is very important. often to stay in touch. Make sure your networks and infrastructure are robust. It also helps to use video where your network supports it to improve the quality of communication. Virtual coffee or even lunch breaks can help bring us together, especially if there are ‘lone wolves’ in the team. “We have focused on frequent communication with our employees, MM: We’ve had to rely heavily on technology to being as transparent as possible keep us connected. Videoconferencing has been about the state of the business and very helpful, and in the legal group we established guidelines to ensure that people were able to work actions we’re taking to address the productively at home and keep in touch with their challenges, and we have taken time colleagues. We also established a weekly call for to joke with one another and have a the global legal group, and a weekly virtual ‘happy little fun.” hour’ for the corporate legal group so that we can >> connect with our colleagues more socially. Diane Dix, general counsel, Total Safety

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 54 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FEATURES Do you need a next day delivery that’s guaranteed?

Your documents are sensitive, urgent and business critical. Our tracked services provide delivery reports, online tracking in real-time, and with next-day delivery by 9am as standard.

For more information email [email protected] or visit dxdelivery.com/exchange >>

Tweet us @Briefinglegal 55 Briefing NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020