The Latest
-
The Truth about Why Some Law Firm Employees Refuse to Embrace Legal Tech (and What You Can Do about It)
If legal technology truly makes law firm life easier for everyone in your firm, why is it so difficult to get law firm employees to embrace it? The truth of the matter is that unless everyone in your law firm uses legal technology, it will make your work more difficult. Why do some law firm employees refuse to embrace legal tech? Is there anything you can do about it?
Don’t Law Firm Employees Want an Easier Work Life?
There are a lot of legal tech options to choose from, and all of it is designed to improve the daily workflow of the law firm. Why don’t employees want an easier work life? Yes, of course they do. However, depending on the employee and their tasks, they may feel like the legal tech that affects them makes their life more difficult instead.
There may also be some law firm employees who refuse to use legal tech because they don’t understand how it actually works. While many employees come into the law firm with a good understanding of technology and how it works, some employees may not have an understanding of software outside of Microsoft Office and other basic computer programs. They may feel that they’re expected to know and they’re not comfortable enough to ask for help or for more training.
You may have an employee (or maybe more than one employee) who used the legal technology in question and had a bad experience with it. The cause of the bad experience really doesn’t matter in their mind. It sticks with them.
And, of course, there are some people who just don’t like change. They live and die by the old ways. They may mask their general dislike of change with what may be perceived as a reason. You can tell the difference between an actual concern and just not wanting things to change by considering past experiences when the law firm has implemented new software, policies, or procedures. The past changes don’t need to be significant ones, either.
Can You Really Make Legal Tech Implementation Easier for Your Employees?
Once you have a general idea of why law firm employees don’t fully embrace the legal technology you’ve chosen, is there a way that you can make them more apt to use and maybe even enjoy it? While we certainly won’t say that we believe every reluctant employee may eventually chomp at the bit, pinpointing their reason (or reasons) for disinclination can help you come up with a plan.
In fact, you may even be able to minimize future problems. How? By first getting feedback from law firm employees about what sort of legal tech the firm needs and asking for feedback and suggestions. Your employees can tell you if they’ve had a poor experience with certain vendors, this can be a valuable learning experience for you. You can ask about what they felt happened that made it a bad experience. Is it something that may be solved? Did it add too many steps to their existing workflow? Remember that legal tech is about making life easier at work, not harder. They may be able to give you suggestions on legal tech that they feel would be a better fit.
Take Employee Feedback Seriously
When you implement legal technology of any kind, it’s crucial that you take employee feedback seriously. You may have a general idea of how they go through accomplishing their assigned tasks, but unless you’re in the trenches, you may not know how the software impacts them first-hand. You need your law firm to be efficient just as you need your employees to feel happy.
Reassure Employees of the Purpose of the Legal Tech
There is a huge fear in the legal industry. That fear is that legal technology will take away jobs. That fear stems from the continuing growth of the artificial intelligence segment. Of course, there are certain movies that certainly don’t help with that impression. Not all AI has the ability to learn; it has to be designed to learn. AI, like other components of technology, is supposed to be a convenience that makes life easier.
It’s important to reassure employees that while there may need to be some extra training to fully use it, you’re not adopting it to put them out of a job. Technology is great, but it’s not human. It doesn’t have the experience of someone who’s worked in the legal industry for years. Legal technology runs on a set of rules. It follows only those rules. It doesn’t “think” outside of those rules. In the legal field, we need people who have the ability to know and implement certain rules when creating documents, but we also need them to have compassion and the ability to reason and consider what is best for the client.
Thorough and Continuous Training without Judgment
Do not neglect training because you believe that each and every one of your law firm employees know how to use a computer. While a lot of legal tech options are easy to learn and use, there are some nuances and there can be some learning curves. For example, with client documents stored in a DMS, you may be able to implement a check-in and check-out system for documents. Checking-out a document to edit it makes any other copy opened read-only. There may be version comparison tools, auditing tools, and other really useful features that your employees may not know anything about.
You can usually seek out initial training from the software vendor, but it may be surface level or not provide individual training to each employee. You may need to find someone in your law firm who is extremely savvy and considered a “super user.” A “super user” is someone who knows how to use practically any technology that is placed in front of them. They just seem to immediately catch on. They are usually enthusiastic about it, too. If your “super user” tends to get along well with others in the office, consider enlisting them to provide more thorough training.
You need to have someone experienced with the software, be it someone provided by the vendor or even an external third-party who specializes in legal tech training, ready to provide additional training if needed. They should be available for questions and for in-person training where needed.
It’s very important that the initial and on-going training takes place in a way that feels open and friendly. Law firm employees will not feel comfortable asking questions or even using the software if they feel that they’re being judged. Make sure your law firm employees know that you don’t expect them to be perfect. You just want to make work life easier for them.
And for Those Who Just Don’t Like Change?
Continue to reiterate the merits that the legal tech directly provides. It’s important to make sure that they feel as if their concerns, questions, and feedback are all voiced. Sometimes, people just feel the need to be heard and like they are part of the process. That feeling of inclusion is sometimes all that is needed to get people on-board.
Adopting Legal Technology Can Be Scary
Legal technology can be quite a change compared to the old way of how your law firm operates. It’s important to keep that in mind! Allow appropriate time and provide the proper resources. You’ll find that it’s easier to get your employees on board!
-
Charting the Course for Group Legal Services
Considering the title of this year’s conference, I hope I have some ideas about well, charting the course of the GLSA. Looking back, group legal has always been a great idea. Consumers and those acting on their behalf devise a system to pool resources to obtain better services that may otherwise be beyond the reach of an individual. In fact, it is hardly a novel idea. The concept is the basis for so many industries– insurance, health care, education, and banking come to mind. The concept is undoubtedly a perfect fit for legal services. In my twenty-plus years as a lawyer working in the industry, I have no doubt it is the most powerful tool ever devised for attorneys and clients to find one another.
Looking forward, the consumption of legal services will exponentially increase in the coming years. The access and ease that technology provides will make certain. How do we make certain, Legal Plans and a growing population of prospective clients, receive the full benefit? In no particular order:
- Group legal services must fully embrace technology. If not we will be beaten by those who deliver technology-based legal services without the involvement of a lawyer. This is bad for lawyers and I am steadfast bad for consumers.
- GLSA must increase efforts, on a State and local level, in the professional conduct re-regulation process. A sea change is occurring. Look no further than the clarifications and liberalization of the solicitation rules in new ABA Professional Conduct Model Rule 7.3. See for instance, the Future Reports being published by many Bar Associations. Local and voluntary Bar Associations are debating their place in the brave new world of technology-driven legal services. We have to help these organizations make the natural connection that the group legal industry is built to embrace technology-based legal solutions.
- To reach the highest potential GLSA should double down on conveying its message to the lawyers who are skeptical. As believers in legal plans, we all have heard the excuses. Skepticism based upon laugh out loud, old school attitudes that legal plans are somehow “cheap” and participation will damage a lawyer’s reputation as a pillar in the local legal community. In other words, ego is an issue. Unfounded professional conduct concerns are another excuse. Most importantly a failure to convey how legal plans benefit lawyers financially holds back progress. I suggest the GLSA organizations should concentrate on conferences, articles, webinars– whatever connections we can make—to share the message with all lawyers.
I hope these few ideas help us frame some discussions, so we can come up with even better ideas in Tampa. I am excited about the future of group legal services and the GLSA! See you in Tampa.
-Wayne Hassay
-
The Future of the GLSA: Charting a New Course – Part VII
In the seventh and final installment of our weekly series on the future of the GLSA, Hyatt Legal Plans CEO, Ingrid Tolentino provides her perspective on the future of the GLSA and more.
Where do you see the GLSA in 3 years?
Ingrid: In 3 years, I would like to see GLSA as a larger and more influential organization. GLSA is well positioned to increase its membership and become a true resource for its members and participating companies. There is an opportunity to support attorneys to help grow their practices and leverage technology in a profession that has traditionally been slow to transform. Through the annual meeting and other webinars, GLSA provides their members with helpful information regarding resources for small and solo practitioners and allows members to interact with Legal Plan Administrators. Attorneys who participate in GLSA truly have the insight and opportunity to help promote and grow the legal plan industry and their own practices.
How does your company improve access to justice?
Ingrid: For a low monthly premium, Hyatt Legal Plans provides our members and their dependents with access to a large network of experienced attorneys who can provide high-quality legal services for many personal legal needs. Dealing with legal issues such as a traffic ticket, divorce, or debt matters can be very stressful and overwhelming to many people. Legal plans provide people who have never utilized an attorney and may not even know how to select attorney the ability to work with a vetted attorney who will advocate for them and help them resolve their matter. The attorney’s fees for many legal matters are fully covered and paid directly by the legal plan. Without the legal plan, many members may not have the ability or the means to obtain counsel.
How can attorneys make more money using your company or plan?
Ingrid: The best way to increase referrals and business from the legal plan is to provide high-quality service to our members. Our goal is for our members to have a very good experience while utilizing their legal plans. That experience is largely based upon the experience they have with the attorney that they chose to work with. From the first phone call or communication to your office, focus on providing the member with a good customer experience. Be responsive and timely with communications and updates on ongoing matters. If you have any questions or concerns about coverage, fees or any other issues, reach out to Hyatt Legal Plans to discuss. We are here to help and to provide you with the information you need to assist our members. Members who have positive experiences will share their experiences with co-workers and others and are a great source of new referrals to your office. Likewise, if a member has a negative experience, they will share that as well and that can have a chilling effect on new referrals.
We are very close to our spring conference in Tampa Bay on May 9th to 11th. If you are interested in the State of the Industry Panel plus learning more about how legal and subscription-based plans can help your practice, more information is available here. Registration is open now and there are limited tickets here.
-
For The Changing GLSA, A New And Improved Website
We pride ourselves on trying to be both responsive to our members and others who visit our site looking for information, and we strive to lead the pushing attorneys and the law profession as a whole towards the adoption of technology. As you might have noticed, our website is newly redesigned, brilliantly so from the team at ONE400. We’ve revamped our membership software and member portal to try and offer a better self-service experience to members looking to take advantage of what GLSA has to offer. And in an effort to better help browsers and members on our site, we’ve just added a chatbot to our site, courtesy of LawDroid. The bot allows you to ask questions from a selected set of the most frequently asked questions about membership, our upcoming conference, sponsorship opportunities, or you can ask a free form question programmed in using natural language processing — a process that will allow the bot to learn the questions that users have in order to develop more and better answers over time.
We’re excited about adding more new features and improvements to both GLSA’s online presence and the organization as a whole. We’re plotting a new course into the future, and we hope that the coming years of the GLSA are the best yet. If you want to learn more about the GLSA’s new course, you can sign up for our spring meeting in Tampa on May 9th through 11th, where we will be holding a facilitated workshop to help develop those ideas.
The future of the GLSA is bright, and we can’t wait for you to see what we have in store.
-
The Future of the GLSA: Charting a New Course – Part VI
In our sixth installment of our weekly series on the future of the GLSA, Keri C. Norris, of LegalShield and State of the Industry Panel veteran speaker provides her perspective. Keri serves on the GLSA Board and is also Past President.
Where do you see the GLSA in 3 years?
Keri: GLSA is evolving, just as the legal industry is evolving. It is a consumer driven, consumer choice industry, and lawyers and legal service providers must keep up. This means the GLSA must be relevant, engaged, and provide real value to its members first, and then to consumers. I hope to see the GLSA as a leader in the area of technology in law as well as a leader in providing attorneys alternative methods to provide legal services to more people while growing their business.
What is the single most important change to the legal profession that must happen to improve access to justice or legal services?
Keri: Lawyers must figure out how to make services accessible and affordable. In order for lawyers to do this, traditional bar rules, often barriers or restrictions, must evolve and be more flexible.
How does your company improve access to justice?
Keri: LegalShield has been providing North Americans access to justice through access to real attorneys for more than 45 years. We work to break down barriers for consumers. We work to make attorneys available for any topic for anyone, not just big cases or emergencies. Through everyday telephone and other technological access to real lawyers, we help facilitate relationships between clients and lawyers. At LegalShield, we believe lawyers are critical to the process of justice. It’s not enough to only offer forms or information. At LegalShield, we provide easy ways for connections, relationships, and partnerships to form between individuals and businesses and attorneys.
How can attorneys make more money using your company or plan?
Keri: LegalShield lawyers build relationships with LegalShield members. We want members to see our attorneys as their personal attorneys. A human connection designed to solve a real problem creates repeat clients for our attorneys. We encourage our attorneys to be full service, helping consumers in everyday life and in emergencies. Connections create revenue.
If you are interested in hearing more from the State of the Industry Panel – featured last month in Law Technology Today, and learning more about how legal and subscription-based plans can help your practice, attend the Tampa Bay conference this May 9th to 11th — more information available here. Registration is open now and there are limited tickets here.
