CEO
Avaneesh
Marwaha
It’s
long
been
a
mantra
in
legal
tech:
“Streamline
the
mundane
tasks
so
lawyers
can
better
focus
on
high-level
work.”
Indeed,
attendees
at
this
year’s
ILTACON
saw
just
how
far
the
industry
has
come
in
this
regard,
with
forward-thinking
technology
featured
throughout.
For
Litera’s
CEO
Avaneesh
Marwaha,
however,
these
types
of
technology
will
be
table
stakes
for
a
modern
law
firm.
Without
revenue
growth,
the
efficiency
gains
could
even
threaten
profitability
and
utilization
rates.
Ironically,
then,
lawyers
looking
to
differentiate
themselves
in
a
high-tech
era
will
need
to
get
back
to
the
basics.
“The
more
time
lawyers
spend
with
their
clients
and
less
in
front
of
a
computer
screen,
I
think
that’s
better,”
he
said.
“That’s
just
better
for
society
and
better
for
where
we
want
to
go.”
Marwaha’s
remarks
came
during
a
company
update
for
Litera
during
lLTACON,
where
he
was
joined
by
Microsoft’s
WW
Strategy
and
Business
Ops
Leader
Gbenga
Ige
and
Litera’s
Chief
Product
Officer
Adam
Ryan.
Speakers
at
the
event
outlined
how
technology
can
go
beyond
enabling
efficiency
gains
and
truly
help
modern
law
firms
increase
top-line
revenue,
while
detailing
Litera’s
flurry
of
new
product
releases.
Here
are
some
takeaways
from
the
presentation.
There’s
Tough
Competition
For
large
firms
in
particular,
advances
in
legal
technology
have
brought
about
a
difficult
competitive
landscape.
A
partner
could
leave
with
a
few
associates
and
start
a
competitor
firm
with
the
help
of
technology,
for
example.
“Those
weren’t
situations
that
we
had
a
while
ago,”
Marwaha
said.
“So
how
are
you
going
to
build
a
firm
that
is
competitive
for
the
long-term
and
not
just
the
short
term?”
To
remain
competitive,
particularly
as
legal
work
becomes
more
streamlined,
law
firms
must
grow
their
revenue.
The
good
news
is
that
there’s
a
lot
of
room
for
improvement
in
this
area.
At
most
law
firms,
cross-selling
just
isn’t
happening,
Marwaha
said.
He
recalled
his
own
past
experience
with
outside
counsel
who
neglected
to
reach
out
about
potential
compliance
work
after
advising
his
company
on
a
major
transaction.
“There’s
so
much
unmet
work
sitting
out
there
that
if
your
partners
just
did
something
about
that,
you
would
naturally
grow
your
top-line
revenue,”
he
said.
Client
Service
Is
Key
This
type
of
business
development
goes
hand-in-hand
with
a
focus
on
client
service.
“We’ve
been
thinking
about
defining
what
our
belief
system
is
for
this
industry,
and
it’s
this
idea
of
‘maniacal
client
service,’”
Marwaha
said.
“This
is
a
mirror
of
how
we
view
ourselves
today.”
Everyone
at
Litera
is
mandated
to
utilize
AI.
But
it’s
being
used
to
improve
customer
service,
as
opposed
to
a
primary
focus
on,
say,
profitability.
Law
firms
that
take
a
similar
tack
will
deepen
their
client
relationships
and
grow
their
revenue
as
a
result,
Marwaha
said.
“Essentially,
what
you
want
to
do
is
focus
on
relationship-building,”
he
said.
“I
think
lawyers
and
partners
should
spend
their
time
with
their
clients.
I
think
that’s
smart.”
“It’s
not
just
thinking
about
automation
day
in
and
day
out.”
Tech
Is
a
Differentiator
So
how
can
tech
enable
deeper
client
relationships?
Litera’s
focus
on
delivering
the
right
data,
in
the
right
place,
at
the
right
time
will
deliver
this
result,
Marwaha
said.
Litera
One
operates
directly
within
the
Microsoft
ecosystem,
eliminating
the
need
to
juggle
between
products.
It
prioritizes
proprietary
firm
data
gathered
in
its
Foundation
system,
and
the
Peppermint
CRM
solution
integrates
with
Microsoft
for
client
outreach.
Marwaha
gave
the
example
of
a
law
firm
partner
receiving
an
email
asking
how
much
experience
a
firm
has
in
a
particular
type
of
matter.
“How
is
that
question
answered
today?”
he
said.
“Does
the
partner
just
guess?
Do
you
go
ask
someone?
How
do
you
get
that
information?”
Litera
One,
by
contrast,
will
proactively
provide
an
answer
to
that
question,
right
within
Outlook.
It
does
this
by
using
artificial
intelligence
and
experience
data
gathered
within
the
Foundation
system.
“We
can
now
give
you
that
information
as
an
email
comes
in,”
Marwaha
said.
“So
that,
to
me,
is
the
right
data
at
the
right
place
at
the
right
time.”
Litera
Is
All-In
on
Microsoft
Marwaha
described
the
Microsoft
ecosystem
as
the
most
safe
and
secure
way
to
conduct
professional
work.
“Why
go
against
the
leading
company
in
the
space?”
he
said.
“Everything
that
we
do
is
safe
and
secure
and
built
on
Microsoft.
I’m
so
committed
to
that
right
now,”
he
said.
Evaluating
Your
Firm
Curious
to
see
Litera
One
in
action?
Discover
how
the
industry’s
first
fully
connected
legal
workflow
solution
can
transform
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practice
here.
To
explore
some
of
Litera’s
other
groundbreaking
solutions
trusted
by
99%
of
the
AmLaw
100
and
75%
of
the
legal
industry
worldwide,
you
can
book
a
demo
here.
If
you’d
like
to
see
the
full
company
update,
you
can
view
it
here.
Jeremy
Barker
is
the
director
of
content
marketing
for
Breaking
Media.
Feel
free
to email
him with
questions
or
comments
and
to connect
on
LinkedIn.