If you are an ActionStep customer or are considering ActionStep as an option to replace your legacy practice management system, you will likely be very interested in a number of new options that are available for ActionStep customers to create the type of complex legal documents that law firms are going to need to be able to create in an era when anyone will be able to access some form of AI to create documents. Differentiation in this area will be increasingly valuable.
The ability to create more complex legal documents has been a key gap in most practice management systems we have looked at. While most practice management system providers market their solutions as having document automation, it falls far short of what we know is possible with specialist tools. Being able to merge names, addresses, and dates is not advanced document automation!
We can see that ActionStep now has at least three good new options, which should be a strong differentiating factor for firms considering a switch. Even if you’ve looked at ActionStep before and it wasn’t the right fit at that time, it may be time for a fresh look.
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Topics:
Document Automation,
Legal Technology,
Document Assembly,
Law Firm Management,
HotDocs Advance,
Legal Automation,
Matter Management,
Law Firm Strategy,
Law Firm Profitability,
HotDocs,
NetDocuments,
ActionStep,
PatternBuilder
The problem
We often come across people who have some form of existing automation solution in place, but it isn’t meeting their needs and they aren’t sure what to do about it.
They have potentially invested a lot of money already in the existing solution, so there’s a large sunk cost that is in their mind.
Of course, the best thing to do is to ignore sunk costs – what's done is done - and to focus on what is the best decision from here on. Easier said than done, but still necessary!
Reasons
There could be a number of reasons why the existing solution isn’t meeting needs. These could include:
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Topics:
Document Automation,
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Law Firm Management,
Digital Signatures,
Legal Automation,
Email Management,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management,
Law Firm Strategy,
Knowledge Management
I was curious when I saw this question in Deloitte's research in their In-house Insights Report “Trusted navigators in complex and challenging environments” prepared in response to a September 2022 survey of New Zealand's in-house legal community, on what technology systems do you have in place to support efficient/effective legal operations?
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Topics:
Document Automation,
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Digital Signatures,
Compliance,
Legal Automation,
Email Management,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management,
Knowledge Management
I'm looking forward to the 2024 ILANZ conference on 22 and 23 May. It's a great opportunity to get a feel for the issues and priorities of the New Zealand in-house legal community, as well as to connect with others who are working with, and providing solutions to, in-house lawyers.
This year, I'll be particularly interested in gauging in-house lawyers' feelings about technology and their plans to invest in it. Even as recently as September 2022, Deloitte's research in their In-house Insights Report “Trusted navigators in complex and challenging environments” prepared in response to a September 2022 survey of New Zealand's in-house legal community, showed that more than half of in-house teams were planning no change in their investment in technology. I found that surprising at the time.
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Topics:
Document Automation,
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Document Assembly,
Self-Service Legal Automation,
Compliance,
Legal Automation,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management
Legal teams often rely on support from Finance, IT, or Procurement to access new technology and systems.
This is confirmed in the Deloitte In-house Insights Report “Trusted navigators in complex and challenging environments”, prepared in response to the September 2022 survey of New Zealand's in-house legal community, which identified the CFO/COO as the most common decision maker, followed by the CIO/IT Department.
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Topics:
Document Automation,
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Digital Signatures,
Legal Automation,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management
As an in-house lawyer or lawyer in a firm, you may have heard about the benefits of using technology to improve your legal processes and get better outcomes. You may have seen some impressive demos or testimonials from vendors who claim to have the perfect solution for your needs.
But how do you decide which technology or approach is the best for your situation?
How do you navigate the overwhelming amount of information and noise in the market?
The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Different technologies and approaches have different strengths and weaknesses, depending on your goals, constraints, preferences, and context.
What works for one legal team may not work for another. And what works today may not work tomorrow.
So, how can you simplify your thinking and make progress in evaluating LegalTech?
Here are five suggestions that may help you:
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Topics:
Document Automation,
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Document Assembly,
Law Firm Management,
Legal Automation,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management
I found the latest podcast by Ron Baker and Ed Kless in The Soul of Enterprise (The Time Tax: The Crime of Stealing Customers’ Time) very thought provoking. I recommend it highly.
It is based on an article by B Joseph Pine II and James H Gilmore – Competing for Customer Time.
While there is ongoing discussion about the hourly billing model and lawyers charging for their time, the focus in the podcast and article is on the value of the client’s time and how to avoid wasting it.
Pine and Gilmore come out strongly:
"While not crimes against humanity, time-wasters are certainly offences against human customers. The worst thing you can do is waste your customers’ time – yet companies do it all the time.”
They go on to say:
“Companies can create value for customers by eliminating activities that waste their time; saving their time when so desired; offering experiences where time is valued; and even helping customers to wisely invest their time.”
and
“No company should impose wasted time on customers. The primary strategic choices today focus on time well saved and time well spent.”
This made me think about how this applies to our business, LawHawk, and the legal automation solutions we design, build and support. I have set out my thoughts below.
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Topics:
Document Automation,
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Law Firm Management,
Self-Service Legal Automation,
Legal Automation,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management
It's not uncommon for someone to show some initial interest in a legal automation project, get excited seeing how it could make a real difference in their work and that of their team, and then be told that it is not possible.
What can you do in that situation?
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Topics:
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Document Assembly,
Law Firm Management,
Compliance,
Legal Automation,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management,
Law Firm Profitability
A common concern we hear when talking to prospective clients about legal automation is that they haven't got a budget, and they don't think they can get one.
Often, however, this is before we have discussed the size and cost of the problem or the opportunity to be addressed and the expected benefits, and therefore, it needs more context before a price can be agreed and a budget could be obtained.
What should you do before worrying about price and budget for an automation project?
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Topics:
Legal Technology,
In-House Legal,
Document Assembly,
Law Firm Management,
Compliance,
Legal Automation,
Matter Management,
Legal Operations,
Contract Management,
Law Firm Profitability
021 339 527
lawhawk@lawhawk.nz
