BOSSES SOLVING THE PRODUCTIVITY PUZZLE ONE STEP AT A TIME

In a people business where we deal in time, working smart is key.

We are streamlining key processes and using technology more efficiently, without taking our eyes off client delivery and client needs.

Our initiatives include integrating systems and giving better visibility of key data. These make our people more efficient and as this is driven centrally, it helps those working from home or out of the office.

It isn’t about working harder, but more efficiently to help achieve the work-life balance many of our staff are trying to maintain.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will help in areas such as due diligence exercises where large quantities of documents need to be scanned. We are already using one such product for assistance but are not relying on it to do the work for us. However, over time this technology will become more sophisticated and reliable and as such our insurers will want, or even insist on us using it.

We will also need skilled technicians to deploy the software properly. Our lawyers will have to develop complementary analysis skills, so they know what they are asking the software to do, and how to interpret the results. It is no surprise that the lady leading our use of this technology was a software developer before becoming a lawyer. We may need to offer our lawyers relevant technology training.

However, I am constantly amazed at the thorny and difficult issues that come up time and time again on transactional matters. These need patience, skill and experience to navigate and we are some way off having a robot being able to do that.

That said, there is greater capacity for automation in different sectors. Elements of conveyancing; basic will-writing and employment contracts. But the minute you do something out of the ordinary, which is where most of our work at BPE sits, a robot probably won’t cut it.

And if AI takes over the basic work, how will trainee and newly qualified lawyers learn about documentation constructs and all the basics if they don’t go through due diligence/marking up documents?

Training through case study scenarios will have to play a greater part at the front end, and the skills of a trainee or newly qualified lawyer will need to change. We may need fewer and it may become more competitive to become a lawyer through the traditional route.

Firms already suffer huge attrition among trainees who move shortly after qualification. Perhaps opening up the law profession, where more people come through apprenticeship or paralegal routes, learning on the job by doing the most basic things, means that the profile of our trainees may change over time.

When these employees get to the equivalent of trainee they will have more experience, often more than some graduates coming through the conventional route – quite an interesting role reversal.

Traditionally, clients buy our time. Increasingly that is counterintuitive to their actual needs. BPE is working towards pricing needs and away from traditional legal pricing models. However, this comes with a potential productivity headache.

The scope of a transaction could change, and some of those costly issues in terms of time cannot be anticipated at the outset. Part of our productivity drive is designed to address this and ensure that we are not fundamentally disadvantaged by trying to offer more flexible and attractive proposals to our clients.