Legal Tech (Series: The Business of Law and Accounting: Making Money as a Professional Service Provider)

Practical and entertaining education for
attorneys, accountants, business owners and
executives, and investors.
2

The material in this webinar is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal,
financial or other professional advice. You should consult with an attorney or other appropriate
professional to determine what may be best for your individual needs. While Financial Poise™
takes reasonable steps to ensure that information it publishes is accurate, Financial Poise™
makes no guaranty in this regard.
While Financial Poise is happy to make this PowerPoint freely available to all, the reader is
cautioned that it was created for use as part of a webinar that featured an extensive verbal
discussion of the topics addressed in the PowerPoint. It was not designed to be read by
itself. Financial Poise webinars can be purchased at www.financialpoise.com. You may also
receive offers for free webinars by subscribing to Financial Poise's DACyak, a free weekly
newsletter.
DISCLAIMER
3

MEET THE FACULTY
MODERATOR:
Adam Schlagman ALM Law Journal Newsletters
PANELISTS:
Brianna Leung GrowthPlay
Dean Leung iManage
Rick Weber ELIJAH
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ABOUT THIS WEBINAR
The only thing constant is change, and professional services firms are facing unprecedented disruption with innovation and
technology. Legal Tech is a broad term that includes everything from products aimed at helping professionals analyze matters
faster, bill client more efficiently, communicate with clients better through contact management software, and so many more.
This webinar discusses the ABCs of tech for the professional service provider with a focus on how to leverage best practices in
business process mapping, how to leverage the latest innovation in technology solutions for service delivery and data analytics,
and how to create the ultimate client experience for sustained revenue and client loyalty. While the specific products discussed
focus on legal tech products, the principles discussed apply equally to any professional service provider.
This webinar is delivered in Plain English, understandable to you even if you do not have a background in the subject. It brings
you into an engaging, even sometimes humorous, conversation designed to entertain as it teaches. And, it is specifically designed
to be viewed as a stand-alone webinar, meaning that you do not have to view the other webinars in the series to get a lot out of it.
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ABOUT THIS SERIES
At a time when we are bombarded with news and information about the uncertainties of the economy, successful sales professionals
(rainmakers) rest in comfort and confidence knowing that their success is not beholden to the ups and downs of the marketplace.
This series identifies essential Rainmaker Best Practices, that when focused on with discipline and intention, distinguish you and your
firm, and help you gain a competitive sales advantage. These episodes focus on WHAT works in any market and HOW to
implement the best practices to impact your business with increased revenue, increased leverage of time and resources, and improved
accuracy and predictability in your sales pipeline- - all while managing your practice so that your level of service to your clients does
not suffer.
As with every Financial Poise Webinar, each episode is delivered in Plain English understandable to investors, business owners, and
executives without much background in these areas, yet is also valuable to attorneys, accountants, and other seasoned professionals.
And, as with every Financial Poise Webinar, each episode brings you into engaging, sometimes humorous, conversations designed to
entertain as it teaches. Each episode in the series is designed to be viewed independently of the other episodes so that participants will
enhance their knowledge of this area whether they attend one, some, or all episodes.
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Dates shown are premiere dates; all episodes will be available on demand after
their premiere date.
EPISODES IN THIS SERIES
Episode #1 Growing Your Practice January 15, 2019
Episode #2 Legal Tech February 12, 2019
Episode #3 Personnel Issues March 12, 2019
Episode #4 Your Niche and Your Brand April 9, 2019
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Episode #2: Legal Tech
© 2019 by DailyDAC, LLC d/b/a Financial Poise Webinars™ 8

WHY BUSINESS PROCESS AND
TECHNOLOGY MATTERS
• The intersection of people, process and technology are at the core of
operational excellence.
• Efficiency and effectiveness are distinct requirements to drive profitability.
• Business process and technology are synonymous with maximizing value.
• Clients have an expectation of continuous process improvement.
• Advisor selection and retention is more frequently the result of whether or
not there is focus on business process improvement.

WHAT IS BUSINESS PROCESS MAPPING
(BPM)?
• A fundamental way to think about business process mapping is to
understand the specific steps or actions in any type of workflow:
✓ Who touches the tasks
✓ Whether it requires multiple reviews or iterations
✓ Whether there are unnecessary steps that are impacting efficiency
• Once a business process is mapped in a current state, advisors can more
effectively identify opportunities for improvement rather than guess or
engage the wrong solution.
• BPM (whether complex or basic) is a cornerstone for advisors to reap the
benefits of continuous improvement.

WHY ADVISORS ENGAGE IN BPM
• There is “technical” BPM that engages very specific methodologies and
professional protocols, usually engaged when large scale innovation or
business processes are targets for change.
• There is “practical” BPM where we commit to a specific process for how
we will do things, often document it and then provide training to any
professional who touches the particular process

WHY ADVISORS ENGAGE IN BPM (cont’d)
• Advisors are engaging “practical” BPM every time a new client service
protocol is identified, quality assurance process is introduced or any effort
that is aimed at increasing productivity.
• BPM gives advisors a discipline to avoid doing the same things the same
ways and expecting different outcomes.
• The competitive landscape requires that advisors are staying current to be
relevant.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS FOR BPM
• Participant buy-in is an absolutely essential success factor.
• Treating BPM with the same priority as you would a client file – not
something you do in your “free” time.
• Maintain focus on which business process is the highest priority in lieu of
trying to tackle multiple processes concurrently.
• Engage team members who may have a different perspective or point-of-
view on workflow and steps to complete a process.

BEST METHODS FOR ADVISORS
ENGAGING IN BPM
• Sponsorship – engage leadership commitment by the organization.
• Communication – let people know what you are doing and why with clear,
specific and regular updates.
• Training – engage people in the process and make training very user-
specific and ongoing.
• Choose a process that fits the task at hand.
• Don’t overly complicate an effort or introduce complexity when it won’t
yield a measurable benefit.
• In short, Crawl – Walk – Run.

COMMON PITFALLS AND WATCH-OUTS
• Starting the process without buy-in or team engagement.
• Tackling too many things at once.
• Not having a clear vision or articulated goals for what is trying to be
achieved.
• Getting caught up in the process for the sake of process.
• Treat new processes as “check the box” during the implementation process
and then revert back to comfort zones and old habits.

WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN BPM
• Leadership – having commitment from the top is absolutely imperative.
• Users – anyone who is responsible for service delivery, installation, training
and communication planning.
• Consider engaging a “key pilot group” who will be enthusiastic adopters of
new process and will spread the good word from their experience.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
• Machine learning is an exciting new development in technology.
• Advisors are beginning to use this to enhance contract review.
• A solid document management system has become a foundational IT
requirement for advisors.
• Many firms are implement CRM (client relationship management) tools.
• There are add-on features and basic enhancements to they systems to
include DLT tagger and Dashboard tools.
• Familiarizing yourself with innovative technology doesn’t mean you have to
implement new technology.

ENGAGING TECHNOLOGIES
• Legal Project Management (LPM) is a very exciting technology advisors can
engage and has benefits that are relevant to professional advisors outside of
the law.
• LPM introduces what is known as the “Experience Curve” where
experience drives down cost of delivery.

ENGAGING TECHNOLOGIES (cont’d)
• Effective rates can be established to understand where staffing
opportunities, leveraging para-professionals and engaging ancillary service
providers may help advisors truly become the low cost provider who can
maintain a healthy rate and increase profitability.
• The era of the “unique snowflake” (belief that every matter is different) is
being replaced by continuous learning and improvement from the
Experience Curve.

CRM IMPLEMENTATION BEST PRACTICES
• There are essential requirements to move your CRM from a contact
management system to relationship management system.
• Connecting CRM to revenue generation and client retention is key.
• Building in natural benefits and consequences with CRM use can help
advisors develop new habits.
• Success stories and quick wins can aid in adoption.

SIMPLE, BUT NOT EASY
• The technology itself is often fairly simple and straightforward and not
usually the problem.
• Adoption and buy-in are where the difficulties lie.
• You can have the greatest IT platform on the planet that if no one leverages
it to its best potential, it will end up being a sunk cost with no ROI – return
on investment.
• Technology ROI is highly correlated to an advisor’s willingness to embrace
change and develop new habits that drive efficiency and effectiveness
improvement.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE
IMPLEMENTATION
• Expand the “project” mindset that believes the project is complete upon
technology installation.
• Ongoing use of the technology is just starting after installation, hence the
project continues as a process.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE
IMPLEMENTATION (cont’d)
• Sponsorship, communication and training require long term commitments
to see benefits beyond the initial installation or version of the technology.
• Don’t assume that technology alone will be a change maker.
• Technology is a tool and the people and process part are essential to make
the tool work to its highest potential.

WHAT IS “BIG DATA”?
• “Big Data” is when you are able to examine data through multiple data
sources across billions of data points to glean insights, answers and
solutions.
• Example – medical professionals are using Big Data for melanoma cancer
research.
• Closest example in a professional services context would be how e-
discovery algorithms have the ability to sort through masses of emails to
uncover issues and insights.

WHAT’S IN A BUZZ WORD
• “Big Data” and “AI” (artificial intelligence) are getting lots of attention.
• “Dirty Data” is a term that references data quality.
• “Clean Data” assumes perfection which is not generally attainable.
• Interesting insights come from investigating and auditing your data quality
and then cross-examining it for relevancy and accuracy.

COMMON AREAS OF DATA COLLECTION
AND ANALYSIS
• AI (machine learning) has been used in e-Discovery for years and is making
its way into contract review.
• Data mining is moving its way up the food chain to find effective arguments
or understanding the judiciary.
• Client data collection as well as website and other digital data collection is
also on the rise.
• Billable hour, realization and collections data is having a significant impact
on profitability calculations and pricing structures.

CAUSATION/CORRELATION OF DATA
• Be mindful of conflated data analysis when looking for
causation/correlation assumptions.
• A key area of focus is the impact of rate increases and impact on demand
for services.
• Data is only one input for understanding client demand.
• Changes in service delivery and other client service dimensions may
generate more understanding for client demand that rate data alone.
• There are many humorous anecdotes for when causation/correlation gets it
wrong.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS WITH DATA
• Effective use of metrics can really drive operational improvements.
• Data catalyzes an interest (and willingness) to change.
• It is important to start with a baseline, so you can more effectively measure
and demonstrate improvement.
• Data helps you make rational decisions on where to invest to make process
without having to solely rely on your gut or instincts.

POSITIVE WAYS TO USE DATA
• Selecting data to observe is key - obvious leading indicators versus trailing
indicators.
• Consider tracking proactive client service and relationship engagement data
through your ERM/CRM as leading indicators for future predictions of
performance.
• Historical revenue data may tell you a story too late to positively impact the
keep/grow business with a client.

POSITIVE WAYS TO USE DATA (cont’d)
• Questions you can ask include:
✓ Do front end indicators correlate to actual financials?
✓ Does few touch points with clients correlate to less revenue?
✓ What other data points do we need to cross-check – i.e. was a client
feedback survey completed?
• Other positive marketing and business development data that advisors can
track includes:
✓ Spend vs. Budget
✓ Email marketing
✓ Websites

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
• Larger firms are investing. Some are creating “labs” and separate
departments for business process mapping, technology and data.
• Business and competitive intelligence will continue to be important areas
on which to focus.
• Machine learning/AI is a real thing and learning how to harness its relevant
power for your firm and practice it will be essential for the future.
• There needs to be a critical focus on knowing your data, where it is located,
how it is organized, making sure it is accessible.

ADVICE FOR ADVISORS JUST GETTING
STARTED
• Keep it simple.
• Complexity kills many initiatives before they have the chance to get off the
ground.
• Clean up and understand your data.
• Waiting longer to deal with “dirty data” never makes it get easier.

ADVICE FOR ADVISORS WITH A ROCKY
START
• Change management is critical.
• Have the courage to call it when it’s not going well.
• You may need to do a project reset to get buy-in and then restart the
project.
• Engage third party professionals for advice and help.
• Your expertise as an advisor does not likely translate in subject matter
expertise as a technology and data expert.

ADVICE FOR ADVISORS EMBRACING
CHANGE
• Keep going for it and sustain your positive momentum.
• Please share what works with others as you go.
• Measure every step of the way.
• Measuring allows you to show real progress and course correct if pitfalls
arise.

SUMMARY
• Closing thoughts:
• Business process mapping
• Technology
• Data analytics

ABOUT THE FACULTY
ADAM SCHLAGMAN
schlag@rcn.com
Adam Schlagman is a practicing lawyer who has served as Editor-in-Chief for LJN, the newsletter division of ALM (American Lawyer
Media) for more than 20 years. The specialty journals: The Bankruptcy Strategist, The Corporate Counselor, LJN’s Equipment Leasing
Newsletter, and Cybersecurity Law & Strategy provide practical information and guidance for practicing attorneys. The published articles
have been reproduced and cited in numerous other professional journals, legal memoranda and judicial opinions.
In addition to soliciting and editing articles by outside authors, Mr. Schlagman has also been responsible for writing content on a regular
basis. His contributions include: case summaries, trend articles, Q&A’s, legislative updates, legal analysis and product reviews. He has a
special ability to take highly complex and nuanced source material and digest it into a product that is informative, interesting and practical.
A general practice attorney, Mr. Schlagman focuses on consumer bankruptcy, criminal law, personal injury and general litigation.
Licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Mr. Schlagman has handled an extremely wide
variety of cases in all stages of development, from pre-trial investigation through trial, both jury and non-jury. A graduate of Howard
University and Widener University School of Law, Mr. Schlagman lives in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania with his wife and daughter.

ABOUT THE FACULTY
BRIANNA LEUNG
bleung@growthplay.com
Brianna Leung is a Principal Consultant with GrowthPlay, a business development training and coaching firm. Brianna
draws from nearly two decades of experience working with and for law firms to help lawyers and business leaders reach
new levels of success leveraging marketing, business development and change management strategy. An engaging
presenter, facilitator, coach, and trainer, Brianna’s strength is in helping professionals solve their business challenges by
gaining a better understanding of the human factor.
Prior to joining GrowthPlay, Brianna was an independent marketing strategy and leadership consultant working primarily
with law firms and service providers to the legal space. For many years, Brianna served on the leadership team at Traveling
Coaches, where she created and led an award-winning change management consulting practice.
Recipient of the International Legal Technology Association's (ILTA's) Consultant of the Year award and a two-time
finalist for ILTA's Thought Leader of the Year award, Brianna is a popular presenter and author. She is a Prosci-certified
change management practitioner and graduated with honors from Thunderbird School of Global Management, receiving
her MBA in global strategy and business intelligence.

ABOUT THE FACULTY
DEAN LEUNG
dean.leung@imanage.com
Dean Leung is Chief Customer Success Officer at iManage, a leading provider of work
product management solutions. Leung’s primary focus is driving initiatives that further
improve the customer experience and ROI by ensuring investments in the right technology.
He has over 25 years of IT experience, most of which he has spent working with
international law firms to drive efficiency, productivity and revenue generation through the
use of technology.

ABOUT THE FACULTY
Rick Weber serves as the President of Elijah LTD – joining Elijah through the merger of
eDirect Impact, LLC and Elijah in 2013. Rick is an attorney and arbitrator for FINRA and a
former federal prosecutor for the Securities & Exchange Commission. In 2000, Rick co-
founded Advocate Solutions, and became one of the pioneers in the eDiscovery industry with
the creation of Discovery Cracker.
Rick is frequently invited to speak as an expert in the field of Electronic Discovery and
Litigation Data Management at conferences and CLE seminars. Rick holds a B.A. from
Michigan State University with honors, and a J.D. from the Vanderbilt University School of
Law, having served as an Associate Editor of the Law Review.
39© 2019 by DailyDAC, LLC d/b/a Financial Poise Webinars™
RICK WEBER
rick.weber@elijaht.com

The material in this presentation is for general educational purposes only. It has been prepared
primarily for attorneys and accountants for use in the pursuit of their continuing legal education and
continuing professional education.
While Financial Poise is happy to make this PowerPoint freely available to all, the reader is
cautioned that it was created for use as part of a webinar that featured an extensive verbal discussion
of the topics addressed in the PowerPoint. It was not designed to be read by itself. Financial Poise
webinars can be purchased at www.financialpoise.com You may also receive offers for free webinars
by subscribing to Financial Poise's DACyak, a free weekly newsletter.
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About Financial Poise™
www.financialpoise.com
DailyDAC LLC, d/b/a Financial Poise™ provides continuing education to
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