GETTING THE MOST FROM A LEGAL ANALYTICS INITIATIVE

Getting started with legal analytics often is the hardest step. After helping dozens of legal departments and law firms with data analytics initiatives, below are the Legal Decoder “lessons learned” on getting the most from legal analytics.

1. View legal analytics as an investment, not a cost. For clients, the return on investment is improved quality and efficiency, more strategic resource management and greater value from “legal spend.” For law firms, legal analytics improve client attraction and retention and firm profitability.
2. Manage change management. Unlike yesterday’s change averse attorneys, today's legal industry leaders know change aversion is a recipe for extinction. Overlaying legal analytics onto the practice of law should be incremental. Messaging how legal analytics improve results eases change.
3. Align the mindsets of lawyers and data analysts. Although both groups are analytical and process-oriented, their differences make it important to understand the others’ idiosyncrasies. Aligning mentalities, speaking the same language, and embracing the same principles lead to legal analytics success.
4. Show skeptics how they benefit from a law firm’s efficiency. Non-attorneys don’t believe matters billed on an hourly basis are managed efficiently. Legal analytics allow legal professionals to self-monitor, proactively show efficiency and fine-tune for optimal value.
5. Start a legal analytics initiative in the right practice area. Certain areas of law follow a normal, repeatable pattern of activities and are well-suited for legal analytics (e.g., M&A, bankruptcy cases and patent litigation). If legal analytics are employed in the right practice areas, the value of legal analytics increases exponentially.
6. Select legal analytics tools that mimics legal workflow process. A team of legal professionals’ value is highest when the lowest cost, competent professionals handle skillset-appropriate tasks in the right time without waste, redundancy, or friction. When legal analytics tools measure these principles, it is easy to capitalize on the output.
7. Use the right data pool(s). Dollar volume of data does not, by itself, translate to accurate insights. A large volume of inapposite data skews results and leads to the wrong answer.
8. Use legal process outsourcing companies (LPOs) for high volume, low risk/low value work.  Once low risk/low value work has been identified by legal analytics tools, that legal work can be deployed to LPOs or lower cost alternative legal services providers.
9. Commit to take action. Legal analytics data doesn't lie.  There’s nothing wrong with making strategic, data-driven changes that fall short of the desired result because tactical adjustments can be made later. There’s everything wrong with seeing a data-driven path to accomplish a goal and doing nothing to traverse that path.
10. Monitor results.  The same legal analytics tools that surfaced pre-initiative mission-critical legal trends and KPIs can assess post-initiative results. It is critical to monitor whether the actions taken are driving the desired results.

The paramount component of superior legal service still is a legal team. Those who embrace legal analytics technology to augment their legal practice will enjoy a competitive advantage.

This post is part of Legal Decoder's column designed to help legal industry leaders drive the most value out of legal spend. Read more and subscribe.

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