On 9 August 2019, CLI held its third annual Innovation in Legal Practice Summit for the first time in Melbourne (the previous two had been in Sydney). The key takeaways from the Summit this year were:
- Running a law firm in the face of rapid change is both hard and really interesting. There is a huge opportunity to learn from leaders of law firms and in-house teams who are “early adopters” and have fundamentally re-designed legal service delivery to better serve human needs.
- Law firms, especially small and medium firms, recognise the need to adapt to changes in the marketplace but can be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. The way through innovation fatigue is to really focus on what will have an impact for the individual business and its clients.
- To decide where to focus your efforts it is important to listen – to your client, to your teams, to other professionals – and use those insights to intentionally design the way you work and how you deliver legal services.
- Small no-cost changes can deliver a big improvement in client experience – you can start with something as simple as changing how you answer the phone. If you want a bigger impact, start to map your business process for key practice areas.
- Working in a diverse group will always deliver better solutions for a complex problem. But just calling a meeting does not guarantee effective collaboration - this is a skill you might need to work on developing.
- The key to successful collaboration? Using critical thinking and creativity to solve complex problems and making sure you have fun along the way.
- Don’t underestimate the power of design thinking – it is more than post-it notes and sharpie pens. To get the best outcomes requires a mindset change but it is well worth trying. When done well it delivers better solutions to complex problems.
- Blockchain and AI may have limited applications right now, but they will improve. Start experimenting with the new low-code solutions now so that you aren’t left behind.
- It is exciting to see more diversity in legal service delivery. The enthusiasm that the attendees had for working together during the sessions and sharing experiences in the breaks reinforced for me that this is a great time to be working in the legal profession. The CLI gives everyone who is interested a chance to be part of shaping the future of legal services.
To read the full Report from our Summit correspondent, Fiona McLay, please download the Report here.
To listen to what the Summates 2019 had to say about the Summit, please click here.
To watch the videos from the Summit, please visit the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) Resource Hub.
Our Summit-based network has grown every year and includes solicitors and barristers (in-house, government and private practice), legal aid and community legal centres, law firms and legal department business managers, bankers, academics, consultants, business analysts, software developers, operations managers, IT, knowledge management professionals, talent management and HR professionals, robotics designers, computer scientists and innovation specialists.
The Summates are a collaborative, diverse, inclusive and generous group of people who are as willing to share experience as they are curious to learn. So, if you have an interest in having conversations with people who “walk-the-talk” every day, are not looking to “sell” you anything (we don’t have exhibitor booths) and just want to chat about the best, practical way to create different and better legal services/products, then the Summit 2020 is going to be a must attend event!
If you would like to receive information about the Summit 2020 as it becomes available including registration opportunities prior to the public release of tickets, please register your interest here. Or, if you would like to volunteer at the Summit 2020, please express your interest here.