LawHawk Blog

When I first read this article in HBR, Why Your Innovation Team Needs a Lawyer, I liked it. All lawyers have probably experienced at least once the dismay of being brought in at the tail end of a new initiative, when all the key decisions have already been made and the deadline for sign-off is…5pm today. Nobody wants you to ask any questions, they don’t want to (and probably can’t) make any changes, and they’re scared that you will “kill the project – or reduce it to a shadow of its potential”. All they really want is a sign-off.

So an article identifying that the real problem is often that “not a single legal representative had been involved in these new business initiatives from the beginning” is a good thing. As the article says

This is where the opportunity lies – in collaboration that includes the final approvers, embedding the legal teams in the design and innovation process.

The problem is that the more I reflect on it, this article – and many people’s views of lawyers in general – is based on a view that the lawyers need to be on the team so they can understand it – if you explain it in simple terms - and not kill it, but there is no suggestion that the lawyers might themselves have the creativity to actually add to and enhance the underlying initiative.

The article below on how law firms can thrive in disruptive times was published in the latest LawTalk magazine.  You can also read it here.

The inspiration for the article came from a 2 hour session with Gary Bolles.  While there are some excellent legal training courses offered through NZLS, ADLS and others, given the vast range of new skills that lawyers can and should develop, it's worth looking more broadly as there are some great courses at very good value.  For example, 2 hours with Gary Bolles, which was organised by Biz Dojo's Collider Programme and Callaghan Innovation, was only $25.00. Creative HQ's Startup Garage also offers some excellent events.  Look into them!  

Seven takeaways for lawyers

The recently released FT Asia Pacific Innovative Lawyers 2016 report contains a number of examples of law firms beginning to use technology, including document automation, to improve their businesses. 

Based on the examples cited, it appears that even the largest firms and legal teams are only just starting to scratch the surface of how significantly technology can increase efficiency and free lawyers up to do more interesting and valuable work.

Key technology developments and achievements overall, and particularly those that related to document automation include:

LawTalk, the official magazine of the New Zealand Law Society, has included a profile of me in its latest edition.  You can see it here - Cloud technology changes everything.  While it's nice to talk about myself a bit to someone other than my children, I'm also pleased to be able to kick off a discussion about how the profession can respond to a wave of disruption that is coming, and turn it into an opportunity to address some major issues around access to justice, work-life balance for lawyers and preserving the special place the legal profession has in our society, which I know are a major focus for the Law Society.

Read the full article below.