This article is written by Ananya Banerjee, Founder of Unico Legale, a start-up advisory & corporate transactional firm.

“Do you know a good lawyer?”

“Yes. Mr X works on all our matters.”

“Okay. I will contact him, then.”

Gone are the days when lawyers used to get work just like this. While recommendations still play a vital role in legal industry, it is not enough, and often, it is not necessary. With the advent of tech entrepreneurs, the new generation is keen on doing their research online. And again, with the rapid transformation in technology sector, most lawyers become unsuitable for most of the new age start-ups due to their lack of knowledge and specialisation in technology. Hence, the HiPPO model still obtained by most law firms in India is changing rapidly.

What is HiPPO?

The process in which the Highest Paid Person (the Managing Partner, i.e.) takes all the decisions. In a non-digital world, it would have been easy. But now, competition in legal industry is so high, law firms need to take care of a thousand things. And yes, no matter how well connected your partners are, you have to go think beyond that. And to be true, while most of the law firms still operate in this structure, a few of them are developing with time. Then there is legal technology, legal education and so on. These subsectors operate just like Edtech/tech sectors and their use of data is as vital as any other tech company. But let us, for the sake of knowledge, concentrate on law firms. With the most basic google search, one could find 247 law firms in Mumbai and 221 law firms in Bangalore. How do you stand apart, then?

Why this Sudden Shift?

Although, traditionally, a law firm is different from other businesses, and there is a level of integrity and faith attached to legal profession that is beyond just quality and professional ethics, at the end of the day, a law firm is also a form of business and one must sustain and develop it with time to ensure it survives the changing economy. Law firms are barred from direct marketing, and to be true, direct marketing wouldn’t do much good to law firms either. Hence, it is ideal to see a law firm as a private establishment that needs special care.

Industrial Revolution

Digital Transformation is believed to bring the next industrial revolution and while lawyers are needed at every step of the way, to understand the changes and draft the documents, as well as to fight the disputes, it is also necessary to add these changes to our profession to make things easier and simpler. Ask the lawyers what GDPR is, and what to say about Private Data Protection Bill, we all know. Ask us about what kind of data would be required for business development. We would think twice. But, we do not run like other businesses and at all times, we need to understand the basics to keep ourselves profitable.

Lawyers and Business Development

A 21st century (more like 2018) managing partner needs to keep in mind the following things:

Client retention, marketing, brand management (yes, your law firm is also a brand), infrastructure development and employee satisfaction. You cannot ignore one aspect and expect to continue working smoothly. Not getting into any tech talk, client retention, marketing and brand management could improve significantly using the data that you are generating. Infrastructure development requires a little bit help from technology sector. But, you are already spending so much on making your servers secure. Why not do the same with the way your employees work?

I am not talking about making everything automated, like there are a few international law firms which exist only virtually through machine learning and deep learning, artificial intelligence and brand value. I am talking about getting some help from technology to generate better and faster results, ensure less errors and make more time to tend to client relations, and although we tend to ignore this one aspect – to increase employee satisfaction, which goes a long way in brand management, more client retention and all in all, to make a happier and more vibrant place of work.  

Why it is Important to Utilise Data?

We have all seen how laws are changing and evolving around data, in recent times. While you have a view on what is missing in these laws, or what could have been better, think about why these laws are being made – one reason – because data is valuable for businesses and businesses across the world are collecting it through several means and the authorities now wish to regulate the same to reduce unauthorised use of the same. When it is so valuable, so useful, it must be valuable for legal industry as well. Yes, it is. And use of data in legal industry is much more widespread, which, in itself, becomes a topic for discussion. So, I shall not venture into it right now.

Time to be Data Aware

Law firms – let’s not waste data anymore. International law firms are already utilising it. In India, digital transformation is spreading as fast as a wildfire. Let’s not be the only industry that could not open its arms to the full potential of data and analytics to solve business problems or to build a better functioning business.

About the Author

Ananya Banerjee, Founder of Unico Legale, a start-up advisory & corporate transactional firm, is the organiser of Know Your Business Better – A nationwide drive to make Indian Entrepreneurs (including lawyers) more Data Aware, to help them win at Digital Transformation.