A Tipping Point
Disclaimer: This is my (emergency) Coronavirus post so I couldn’t sit on it for a whole week! However, this one may be a little more practical than most, so bear with me...
FutureLab.Legal is about learning and solutions, education and execution. In this vein, the current COVID-19 situation speaks volumes about how technology supplements and augments our core business functions (if done correctly).
I've been talking to a few colleagues in the legal industry and realized a way I could be of service to lawyers on this specific point. Here's the idea:
A system-designed, temporary (or mid-term) Remote Work Solution for Lawyers
hosted/supported by FutureLab.Legal which includes a tech-stack that will:
Allow you to communicate with your colleagues or clients in privileged/secure channels (voice, text, file-share).
Archive the conversations for audit and tracking purposes.
Integrate a file depository where you can organize your documents and work on them together.Be completely transferable (exported for when you need to return to "business as usual")
Complemented with policy/best practices for remote communications
The thinking behind this is simple, we may be in a unique position where the global Legal Services market is rudely awoken to the fact that business may suffer terribly if we are asked to stay home, whether that is an emergency government measure, or the decision of the business. Certainly this is a real challenge for the legal operations in Italy who haven't designed a digital workspace or solution as I gather from my network contacts there.
So, what can be done?
The solution cannot be over-engineered, requiring time, large budget and complex decision making. To respond to exigencies of the time, the solution needs to be agile: on quickly, and off when needed (to the extent possible). It needs to be responsive at best to the immediate core functions of Legal Services and cognizant of its unique sensitivities.
To be clear, I'm not suggesting anyone develop and deploy software in the next 2 weeks (though by extension of this event, new and existing software will enter the marketplace).
The software exists, it's about identifying them against core needs of your legal functions and stacking them together in a coherent framework. It's about system thinking and design. It's about educating yourself and the team, designing a solution supported by someone whose expertise and focus lies in where the industry is heading and bridging that future to your present.
So, can we do it ourselves?
Well yes, there may be instances where something can be strung together but, there are two challenges here:
Because of the "infinite churn" model that most partnership law firms run on, there are inadequate resources (personnel and time) internally to be dedicated to constructing a temporary (much less a robust) solution, however simple and effective it may be (who's going to bill the hours?!)
Even if there are some people who would be inclined and given the space and opportunity, alone it may not be sufficient as part of an ongoing attempt to improve the business functions - inevitably, outside assistance is needed. Assistance that is set up in a symbiotic way, gradually assisting growth and transformation, accompanying the business into its future-facing potential and with more than just a temporary solution to a temporary problem.
Ok Q, what do you think?
With COVID-19 we have a real problem. But, we also have a real opportunity to build a real solution that will do some amazing things for your journey and "move the needle" forward into the #futureoflaw.
My hope is that out of unfortunate and desperate necessity, there is an opportunity to dip your toes into a new way of framing your legal services model.
To all my colleagues and friends who work in the transformation of law, and all lawyers who live in this wonderful world of advocacy and service to humanity:
COVID-19 is a tipping point/change-event on the future of law continuum…
If you choose it to be 🔥
As always, the future of law is in our hands.
Q.
ps. The thinking behind how this is possible is open source, discover it here!
pps. If you need to move on this now, reach out! - hint: let me know you came for COVID relief.
Edit: I’ll be posting a thread for readers to share and comment on useful resources popping up all over the internet. This is truly a cross collaborative multi-industry event!
Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash