While industry can be at the forefront of creativity, some of the longest standing professions have been slow to keep up with innovation, preferring to stick to tried and tested methods. The legal industry has often been accused of being a static profession in terms of doing things in new ways and making full use of new technologies. At the Future Forum run by Lawyers Weekly, former lawyer and now innovator and presenter, James O’Loghlin, said that the barriers to innovation in the legal industry include habitual thinking and action based on assumptions. For example, relying on assumptions about even the most basic things, such as the client-lawyer relationship, can impede thinking strategically and maintaining relevance in an ever changing climate.
Despite the legal profession often being painted as a vocation that is stuck in its ‘old ways’, there are firms which are making good use of innovation and looking with fresh eyes at the underlying principles of how they do business. Legal Vision, a firm providing online legal services, has not only taken advantage of the increased demand for online platforms that provide instant, accessible legal services , but in doing so attempts to prioritise client needs and use feedback to influence and adjust the way that they work.
Technology and innovation tend to go hand in hand. Bobbi Young, the CEO of LEAP, has commented on the use of innovation and technology in law firms and how these are important for their ability to enhance not only the client’s experience, but also the capability of lawyers. She further added that clients are expecting more and more that firms be as tech savvy as they are, and that if firms invest in high quality practice management software, and fully understand the capabilities and flexibilities of their systems and of technology, then this will open up new avenues of strategic thinking. When technology and innovative thinking are combined and used together, firms can be confident that they are remaining efficient, capable and relevant.