Creating a critical ‘mindset shift’ to drive legal innovation
Singaporean serial entrepreneur Cherilyn Tan thrives on innovation. Indeed, as CEO of AsiaLawNetwork, she heads the only legal marketing platform approved under Singapore’s Tech Start for Law Scheme, supported by the Ministry for Law, the Law Society for Singapore and Enterprise Singapore. Its mission is to connect businesses and individuals to the right lawyers throughout Asia and Australasia.
“Legal innovation drives the heart of our company,” said Cherilyn. “As a legal technology firm, we constantly think of ways to help lawyers ‘lawyer better’ with technology. It’s not just about AI and automation - ease of use is equally important.”
Cherilyn believes the world needs more access to legal services.
“If there’s a finite number of lawyer hours, then we have to help lawyers improve their efficiency so as to serve a greater number of clients.”
From her perspective, Cherilyn sees significant opportunities arising from legal innovation.
“Right now, we believe that less than 10% of the population is effectively accessing legal services. That means the market for legal services can be more than doubled, provided there is proper education, technology is responsibly used, and collaboration occurs between various industries. Instead of threats, I see a huge opportunity for the legal market. The pond can be expanded into a lake and then a sea, representing a market that was previously not served at all.”
Cherilyn’s biggest prediction for the next decade: legal technology will cease to be a ‘nice to have’ and become a necessity.
“There’s a re-focus on client service, accompanied by more transparent management of client matters. The legal profession will match where the medical profession is today – providing readily available and affordable help. This will build trust in the profession as lawyers will need to compete based on quality of service and price.”
The best way to help lawyers transition to the changing state of the profession is to change the conversation around innovation.
“We should stop thinking of technology as disruption and think of it as more a means to facilitate a better quality of legal services. By encouraging a safe environment for learning and using technology, we can encourage lawyers to find ways to provide higher value services, delivered in a clear, transparent and useful manner. Working in law is no longer about drafting contracts – it is about providing advice and creative thinking in an ever-changing business world. It is about providing the context for legal work to allow businesses to perform at their best.”
For new lawyers entering the profession, Cherilyn thinks it is important to keep an open mind.
“Collaboration is the key to survival,” said Cherilyn. “Remember, the law is a major pillar of life and business, but it must co-exist with other professional work.”
To gain an edge, she encourages lawyers to master the use of technology.
“Innovation and technology is only as good as the lawyer who knows how to use it,” said Cherilyn.
Cherilyn praised the Centre for Legal Innovation (CLI) for its positive work.
“The CLI is doing a great job around educating lawyers and facilitating conversations about really difficult topics facing the legal profession. Often the role of bridging the unknown is a long and tedious process. Having an organisation focused on bringing these conversations to light is important.
“Changing the profession means creating a mindset shift regarding some of the legal profession’s most deeply ingrained beliefs. It’s vital to shift a lawyer’s mindset from looking at what might break to what opportunities might be explored. This requires the legal community to actively take part in and create change from within.”