Game-changing innovation drives future of firms

Andrew King is proud to embrace all technology has to offer. As Founder and Strategic Advisor of E-Discovery Consulting, Andrew is pivotal to driving technological disruption in the law.

“Technology is changing how we work in all aspects of life and the legal profession is no different. The profession is facing considerable change as growing pressures are forcing firms to innovate in how they deliver their legal services.

“The way I work is no different; I look for smarter ways to conduct eDiscovery. Firms I work with are looking for a competitive advantage, as they may not have the same resources or budgets as larger firms. A common problem I encounter is the persistence of using old traditional practices to carry out the exercise. I explore ways to help them manage eDiscovery both efficiently and cost effectively. I help them devise methods to reduce volumes and increase relevance that ultimately reduces the data set down to a size that is manageable for review.”

Andrew is also the organiser of LawFest, New Zealand’s premier legal innovation and technology event.

“LawFest provides the opportunity to learn, connect with innovators in the legal industry, establish relationships, and discover technology that matters to you and your business. Legal professionals should attend to discover how innovation and leveraging technology can impact them, their firms and their clients.”

According to Andrew, the opportunities of innovation are innumerable.

“Innovation through the use of technology is becoming a game changer for providing legal services. It is the opportunity to do things better and at lower cost. Law firms are only starting to take advantage of the opportunities that technology brings – opportunities that many other industries have embraced for many years.

“Many legal services can now be commoditised, whilst others will look at new business models, pricing structures together with leveraging technology to help their firms practise law more efficiently. We are seeing the opportunities of innovation with an ability to provide a more efficient and effective service for clients, and enabling lawyers to focus on higher value work.”

The threats, too, are obvious.

“If we are not prepared to innovate, then we will be left behind,” said Andrew. “There is still significant change to come. Those that are open to innovation and embracing technology will be the ones that lead the way. The ones that choose not to will simply be left behind by an increasingly competitive market.”

For the future of firms, Andrew foresees still greater change.

“The landscape we operate in today has changed, but there will be even greater change on the horizon. There is ever increasing data, different sources and means of communication, all with the expectation of doing the same job faster, cheaper and more accurately.

“In the future, there will be further automation of tasks that are time-consuming, costly and presently performed by humans. Lawyers will be able to focus on practising law and providing expert legal advice for their clients, instead of being restricted by time-consuming administrative tasks. Further automation of legal tasks will enable law firms to be more innovative in how they service their clients.”

Artificial intelligence, once seen as a threat to the profession, is being actively embraced. “Now it is rightly seen as an opportunity and enabler to implement change,” said Andrew.

Supporting lawyers through the process of tech disruption is essential.

“I believe the work of the Centre for Legal Innovation, together with other initiatives like LawFest in New Zealand, are critical to provide a platform to identify the changes ahead, whilst highlighting the many opportunities for those that innovate.”

However, innovation needs champions.

“We see this as very important at LawFest. We provide ticket discounts to encourage this next generation of lawyers to attend and encourage them to champion adoption of technology within their firms and organisations.

“Often many have drunk the ‘Kool-Aid’ of knowing we need to innovate, but the difficulty can be convincing the business or the partnership. Hearing from those that have been there or have started that journey goes a long way to simplifying the business case. There will be people at different parts of this journey, and their experience may be considerably different to those at the forefront of innovation and leveraging technology. Even if you are not innovating yourself, or simply just starting your innovation journey, it is important to be aware of what is available, what others are doing and what the future holds.”

For new lawyers preparing to enter an increasingly tech-disrupted profession, Andrew emphasises the importance of technological competence.

“Being tech savvy is an essential skill for lawyers and will become more so as technology evolves further. Embrace the change. Don’t bury your head in the sand like earlier generations may have done. Use the changes as an opportunity to drive innovation within your firm. It is important to be an early adopter of new technology – if not, you could be left behind.”

“New lawyers need to be at the forefront of change to ensure their jobs and firms exist in the future,” said Andrew. “If you are starting out, look to develop complementary skill sets to law.”

Andrew praises the Centre for Legal Innovation (CLI) for raising awareness and preparing the profession for the change to come.

“The focus is not just on the disruption and change but the opportunities it brings,” said Andrew. “CLI is definitely one of the leading go-to resources for legal professionals. The problem for some is not knowing where to go or how to start – CLI definitely helps demystify these concerns. CLI provides a good platform to bring together some of the leading thought leaders in the legal innovation space.”

“It is also important to have voices like CLI that break through some of the hype, and potential scaremongering that there will be no role for new lawyers coming through,” observed Andrew. “There is still an important role for lawyers, although how they practise is changing and will continue to do so. It helps to present ideas from here and abroad, at the same time evaluating how innovation may impact the profession in two or even five years’ time.”

The Centre for Legal Innovation is a sponsor of LawFest New Zealand 2018. CLI Director, Terri Mottershead, will be facilitating a lively discussion at LawFest on “Is Disruptive Legal Practice the New Normal?” See the full LawFest program here.

If you’re interested in learning about complementary skill sets to law, particularly tech-based complements, you may be interested in attending our upcoming breakfast series, “To Code or Not to Code – Is that the question for lawyers?” The first breakfast will be held in Brisbane on 13 November, followed by Sydney on 15 November. Click through for more information and to register.