Why are sewer covers round? Tech companies looking to hire smart and innovative thinkers have asked this and other similar questions during interviews to see how potential hires think. (Spoiler alert: the main reason for round sewer covers is that it’s the only shape that cannot fall into the sewer). While a seemingly complex question, it is rather simple and makes sense once you know the answer.
Could a machine discover the answer to the reason sewer covers are round? Certainly, if a human had programmed it to know the answer. But could that machine understand the reason why, taking into account the purposes, use, access, and design considerations that would get it to the answer? Probably not.
Last month, I shared that attorneys should not fear obsolescence from the surge of technologies present in the market, but rather embrace tech to take on the more mundane, repeatable tasks to free up time for attorneys to spend on more value-driving work. Here are some areas that law firms and attorneys can focus on, while they leave the more boring tasks to the robots.
Enable More Value-Adding Work For Clients
Last year’s Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer survey revealed that client relationships are changing, and more is expected from outside counsel. As more corporate legal departments experience increased pressure to cut costs post-pandemic, it’s likely that this trend will continue. Diving deeper into clients’ goals and business objectives can help law firms gain a better understanding of which tasks for their client can be automated, and where they should increase the time and resources spent on value-adding work. Technology can be applied to map regulatory changes, and knowledge management and project management tools can help organize research and work product for a client engagement; this could free up time for a discerning attorney to conduct a detailed analysis of the market factors impacting the client’s industry, and contextualize that advice so that the client can make the best decisions.
In a recent discussion with Mark Brennan, Global Lead Innovation and Legaltech Partner at Hogan Lovells, he mentioned, “Our clients want us to be strategic advisors, not just good lawyers. To do this, we must be connected to their business and understand their specific needs. Listening, collaborating, and then providing key insights and perspectives in response is paramount.”
Leverage Technology To Quantify Risk And Outcomes
Now more than ever, there is a wide range of data available that can help quantify and inform specific decisions that are meaningful to a client. Analytics about judges, probabilities of securing a specific motion, or understanding more of what is “market” for a deal term are more knowable than ever. While machines are capable of producing this information, attorneys can add value by becoming experts in leveraging this information to provide their clients with insights tailored to their needs and goals.
Law firms and attorneys can shift more of their advice to discuss the practical aspects of legal risk and business risk, including the possible scenarios and potential outcomes. These conversations can leverage the output of systems and technology, but they are conversations that require human intelligence.
Leverage Emotional Intelligence
One of the great things about technology is that computers are very literal and will provide a “technically correct” answer — but there’s a host of interpersonal interactions with clients that simply require a human.
For example, if a client asks a firm to reduce their rates on an engagement, what are they really asking? Is this really a request to do the work outlined but charge less? Perhaps, but it is good to understand the reason why. Perhaps there are other factors in play. By understanding what is really being asked, a firm might propose a mix of less experienced attorneys, a different timeline, a reduced scope, or a shared risk-and-reward model to meet the needs of the client.
Attorneys focused on value can leverage emotional intelligence and their knowledge of clients — including personalities, the needs of the client and the goals of their organization –- to provide value.
Find Ways To Partner With Clients On The Solutions They Need
With the rise of legal operations, it’s becoming more common for corporate legal departments to adopt tech tools in-house to drive down spend on outside counsel; but as many of us know, not every tech tool we try is guaranteed to fit our needs perfectly. Law firms have the unique advantage of understanding what’s out in the market, what’s working for other clients — and can even find ways to leverage their perspective to make recommendations tailored to their clients’ needs.
“Giving clients the opportunity and platform to collaborate with one another can greatly strengthen the relationship,” Brennan said. “This was the impetus for our Innovation Greenhouse at Hogan Lovells, an intimate group of clients we invited to join a one-year journey to explore issues related to innovation, spark mutually beneficial dialogue, and hear unique perspectives. Our clients have responded in an overwhelmingly positive way to this opportunity.”
Commenting on my previous article via LinkedIn, Hugh Logue, analyst at Outsell, said, “There is a latent demand for legal services that cannot be viably met with the existing legal services business model, and opening up this demand through legal tech will actually create jobs in the legal sector.” In the near term, technology can help bridge the gap between legal services and available legal talent, to keep up with demand; but in the long term, it will free up more time to help attorneys leverage their resources for more value-adding work for the benefit of their clients.
Ken Crutchfield is Vice President and General Manager of Legal Markets at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., a leading provider of information, business intelligence, regulatory and legal workflow solutions. Ken has more than three decades of experience as a leader in information and software solutions across industries. He can be reached at ken.crutchfield@wolterskluwer.com.