Successful Digital Transformation in Law firms

Acknowledgements 11 Foreword by Mark A Cohen 15 Introduction 19 Part I: Why digital transformation matters – and how to get started 25 Chapter 1: What is digital transformation? 27 1. Meaningful change or management speak? 27 2. Innovation vs digital transformation 28 3. Why should law firms change? 30 3.1 Money, money, money 30 3.2 Law firm expertise 31 3.3 The mythology around law firm brand 35 4. “Only the paranoid survive” 37 5. The disruption test 38 6. The art of persuasion 39 Chapter 2: Five defining elements of successful digital companies 41 1. Framing the challenge 41 2. Adapting best practice to the law firm environment 42 3. Beware of innovation theatre 43 4. What does ‘good’ look like? 44 5. The five elements of successful digital transformation 45 5.1 Element 1: digital companies are customer-centric 45 5.2 Element 2: Successful digital companies have a digital strategy (aligned to business strategy) 61 5.3 Element 3: Successful digital companies commit to digital change 66 5.4 Element 4: For successful digital transformation, you need the best (digital) people 74 5.5 Element 5: Create a culture in which transformation can continue to flourish 80 Chapter 3: Developing the vision and strategy 87 1. Introduction 87 2. Eight steps to digital transformation 88 2.1 Step 1: Understand your firm’s business strateg 89 2.2 Step 2: Undertake a firm diagnostic and identify digital opportunity 92 2.3 Step 3: Review the competitor landscape 102 2.4 Step 4: Talk to clients 105 2.5 Step 5: Create the business case for funding 108 2.6 Step 6: Create a plan for execution and assemble the right team 123 2.7 Step 7: Create your vision and strategy document and communications plan 134 2.8 Step 8: Communicate and manage the change 141 Part II: Product development and technology 147 Chapter 4: Products 149 1. Law firm or software development house? 149 2. Embedding products into services 151 3. Law firm digital products – some examples 151 3.1 The subscription model 153 3.2 Partnering to develop and deliver products 155 3.3 Client-facing apps 156 3.4 Digital platforms 157 4. Digital products – the pros and cons 161 5. How to develop products successfully 164 5.1 Talk to customers 165 5.2 Use process 165 5.3 Establish product ownership 165 5.4 Build a team 165 5.5 Work in an agile way 166 5.6 Work cross-functionally 166 5.7 Measure success 166 5.8 Be cognisant of the culture 166 6. Establishing a process 166 7. The product lifecycle 168 7.1 Stage 1: Idea 171 7.2 Stage 2: Enablement 171 7.3 Stage 3: Validation 172 7.4 Stage 4: Proof of concept 173 7.5 Stage 5: Minimum valuable product (MVP) 174 7.6 Stage 6: Continuous delivery 174 7.7 Stage 7: Legacy 175 8. Managing the product delivery lifecycle: product ownership 175 9. Product owner skills 176 10. What does success look like? 177 10.1 The right measures 180 10.2 The go-to-market strategy 181 11. Products – or product thinking? 183 12. Products – some final thoughts 184 Chapter 5: Technology 187 1. Legal tech 187 2. Simplification and convergence: making use of what you have 189 3. Back to basics 191 3.1 Legacy 192 3.2 Leadership and digital literacy 193 3.3 Cloud 194 3.4 Data 197 4. Technology leadership 212 5. In summary 213 Part III: Sustaining the change 215 Chapter 6: Petri dish or opera house? Culture under the microscope 217 1. The link between culture and digital transformation 217 2. Defining culture 218 3. The cultural strengths of law firms 219 4. Law firm culture: the challenges 223 5. Addressing culture under strain: lessons from the financial services sector 225 5.1 Governance 230 5.2 Incentives 230 5.3 Individual accountability 231 6. The enduring nature of the partnership model 231 Chapter 7: Sustaining change – partnership 235 1. Time for a new model? 235 2. Structure and culture 237 2.1 The importance of agility 240 2.2 Investing for the long term 241 2.3 Rigidity of career structure 242 3. What are the options? 245 3.1 Option 1: Specialise 245 3.2 Option 2: Choose to change 248 3.3 Option 3: The ‘wait and see’ approach 248 4. Six structures that encourage cultural change 248 4.1 The acquisition model 249 4.2 The captive model 254 4.3 The intrapreneurship model 256 4.4 The incubation model 260 4.5 The spin-off model 262 4.6 The IPO 265 5. Choosing the right model 267 6. Structuring for success 268 Chapter 8: Sustaining change – people 269 1. Law firms are people businesses 269 2. The law firm people problem 271 3. Who law firms hire 273 3.1 The lawyers 273 3.2 The digital professionals 280 3.3 The changing role of the law firm HR function 280 4. What law firms reward 291 4.1 The danger of recruiting in your own image 291 4.2 Fee earners and fee burners 292 4.3 Cognitive diversity: the power of mixing it up 295 4.4 The challenge of multidisciplinary teams 295 4.5 What’s the alternative? 298 4.6 Cognitive diversity and psychological safety 298 Chapter 9: Sustaining change – purpose 303 1. Purpose – or perpetuity? 303 2. The corporate view of purpose 303 3. The law firm response 307 4. The role of purpose in sustaining transformation 308 5. Becoming purpose-driven – practical steps 309 Chapter 10: Final thoughts 313 Notes 319 About the author 327 Index 329 About Globe Law and Business 341

Law firm partners will realize quickly that Isabel Parker has not pulled any punches in her concise, direct and highly informative presentation of the digital transformation imperative for law firms and how they must rethink traditional approaches to successfully transform. Her own law firm experience, extensive research and talent for clarity combine here to deliver great insights. Almost all law firms give consideration to their culture, but Parker’s treatment of the subject is among the best as she provides an in-depth explanation of what it is, why it should matter to law firms and how firms can develop a culture that fosters digital transformation. The insights from this book will be of equal value to inhouse corporate counsel undertaking transformation initiatives. As a general counsel and student of digital transformation for many years, I will highly recommend this book as ‘required reading’ to law firm partners and my inhouse team alike!