Successful Digital Transformation in Law firms

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!

• Acknowledgements 11Foreword by Mark A Cohen 15Introduction 19Part I: Why digital transformation matters – and how to get started 25Chapter 1: What is digital transformation? 271. Meaningful change or management speak? 272. Innovation vs digital transformation 283. Why should law firms change? 303.1 Money, money, money 303.2 Law firm expertise 313.3 The mythology around law firm brand 354. “Only the paranoid survive” 375. The disruption test 386. The art of persuasion 39Chapter 2: Five defining elements of successful digital companies 411. Framing the challenge 412. Adapting best practice to the law firm environment 423. Beware of innovation theatre 434. What does ‘good’ look like? 445. The five elements of successful digital transformation 455.1 Element 1: digital companies are customer-centric 455.2 Element 2: Successful digital companies have a digital strategy (aligned to business strategy) 615.3 Element 3: Successful digital companies commit to digital change 665.4 Element 4: For successful digital transformation, you need the best (digital) people 745.5 Element 5: Create a culture in which transformation can continue to flourish 80Chapter 3: Developing the vision and strategy 871. Introduction 872. Eight steps to digital transformation 882.1 Step 1: Understand your firm’s business strateg 892.2 Step 2: Undertake a firm diagnostic and identify digital opportunity 922.3 Step 3: Review the competitor landscape 1022.4 Step 4: Talk to clients 1052.5 Step 5: Create the business case for funding 1082.6 Step 6: Create a plan for execution and assemble the right team 1232.7 Step 7: Create your vision and strategy document and communications plan 1342.8 Step 8: Communicate and manage the change 141Part II: Product development and technology 147Chapter 4: Products 1491. Law firm or software development house? 1492. Embedding products into services 1513. Law firm digital products – some examples 1513.1 The subscription model 1533.2 Partnering to develop and deliver products 1553.3 Client-facing apps 1563.4 Digital platforms 1574. Digital products – the pros and cons 1615. How to develop products successfully 1645.1 Talk to customers 1655.2 Use process 1655.3 Establish product ownership 1655.4 Build a team 1655.5 Work in an agile way 1665.6 Work cross-functionally 1665.7 Measure success 1665.8 Be cognisant of the culture 1666. Establishing a process 1667. The product lifecycle 1687.1 Stage 1: Idea 1717.2 Stage 2: Enablement 1717.3 Stage 3: Validation 1727.4 Stage 4: Proof of concept 1737.5 Stage 5: Minimum valuable product (MVP) 1747.6 Stage 6: Continuous delivery 1747.7 Stage 7: Legacy 1758. Managing the product delivery lifecycle: product ownership 1759. Product owner skills 17610. What does success look like? 17710.1 The right measures 18010.2 The go-to-market strategy 18111. Products – or product thinking? 18312. Products – some final thoughts 184Chapter 5: Technology 1871. Legal tech 1872. Simplification and convergence: making use of what you have 1893. Back to basics 1913.1 Legacy 1923.2 Leadership and digital literacy 1933.3 Cloud 1943.4 Data 1974. Technology leadership 2125. In summary 213Part III: Sustaining the change 215Chapter 6: Petri dish or opera house? Culture under the microscope 2171. The link between culture and digital transformation 2172. Defining culture 2183. The cultural strengths of law firms 2194. Law firm culture: the challenges 2235. Addressing culture under strain: lessons from the financial services sector 2255.1 Governance 2305.2 Incentives 2305.3 Individual accountability 2316. The enduring nature of the partnership model 231Chapter 7: Sustaining change – partnership 2351. Time for a new model? 2352. Structure and culture 2372.1 The importance of agility 2402.2 Investing for the long term 2412.3 Rigidity of career structure 2423. What are the options? 2453.1 Option 1: Specialise 2453.2 Option 2: Choose to change 2483.3 Option 3: The ‘wait and see’ approach 2484. Six structures that encourage cultural change 2484.1 The acquisition model 2494.2 The captive model 2544.3 The intrapreneurship model 2564.4 The incubation model 2604.5 The spin-off model 2624.6 The IPO 2655. Choosing the right model 2676. Structuring for success 268Chapter 8: Sustaining change – people 2691. Law firms are people businesses 2692. The law firm people problem 2713. Who law firms hire 2733.1 The lawyers 2733.2 The digital professionals 2803.3 The changing role of the law firm HR function 2804. What law firms reward 2914.1 The danger of recruiting in your own image 2914.2 Fee earners and fee burners 2924.3 Cognitive diversity: the power of mixing it up 2954.4 The challenge of multidisciplinary teams 2954.5 What’s the alternative? 2984.6 Cognitive diversity and psychological safety 298Chapter 9: Sustaining change – purpose 3031. Purpose – or perpetuity? 3032. The corporate view of purpose 3033. The law firm response 3074. The role of purpose in sustaining transformation 3085. Becoming purpose-driven – practical steps 309Chapter 10: Final thoughts 313Notes 319About the author 327Index 329About Globe Law and Business 341