Andrea Alliston, partner at Fasken, and Mark Smolik, GC at DHL, discuss disruption and innovation in legal. Topics include leadership in managing change, challenges of disruptive technologies, implementing technical changes, and pitching and winning business from law firms.
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Quick takeaways
Leadership in managing change and complexity involves focusing on the human-centered aspect, personalized communication, and fostering collaboration.
Law firms should make pitches about the client's specific needs, demonstrate understanding of their business, and creatively use knowledge, technology, and expertise to deliver value.
Deep dives
Importance of Leadership and Change Management
Andrea Alliston, partner and leader of Knowledge and Practice Innovation programs at Faskin, emphasized the importance of leadership in managing change and complexity. She highlighted that change efforts often fail, and it is crucial for leaders to focus on the human-centered aspect of change and consider how people are experiencing it. Effective leadership involves representing the voice of the user, making tough decisions that align with user needs, and fostering collaboration between different teams. Communication was also highlighted as a key element of leadership, emphasizing the importance of personalized communication and acknowledging when there may be uncertainty.
Connecting with Clients and Meeting their Needs
Mark Smolick, Chief Legal Officer at DHL, emphasized the importance of law firms making a genuine connection with their clients. He suggested that firms need to understand the specific priorities and needs of the client, rather than just focusing on showcasing their expertise and capabilities. Smolick emphasized the role of trust in the client-law firm relationship, and the importance of law firms demonstrating their understanding of cost management and risk mitigation. He also mentioned the significance of leveraging data and technology to enhance the client experience and reduce overall costs.
Pitching to Clients: Making it About Them
Mark Smolick provided insights into what clients look for when law firms pitch their services. He emphasized that law firms should make the pitch about the client's specific needs and priorities, rather than just promoting their own strengths and capabilities. Smolick highlighted the importance of law firms doing their homework and thoroughly understanding the client's business and objectives. The focus should be on how the law firm can creatively use their knowledge, technology, and expertise to deliver value and results that help the client achieve their goals.
Embracing Innovation and Leveraging AI
Mark Smolick expressed his perspective on law firms embracing innovation, including the cautious adoption of generative AI. He recommended that law firms evaluate AI technologies and take a conservative and strategic approach before fully implementing them. Smolick emphasized the importance of law firms demonstrating how they leverage AI to identify and mitigate risks, lower costs, and drive efficiency. He also emphasized the need for law firms to understand the financial metrics and business goals of their clients, and how their innovative approaches can generate value and deliver returns to clients.
Today’s episode features two interviews on disruption and innovation in legal, with the two keynote speakers from the inaugural Knowledge Management & Innovation for Legal Conference held recently in New York City: Andrea Alliston, partner and leader of knowledge and practice innovation programs at Fasken, Canada’s largest law firm, and Mark Smolik, chief legal officer at DHL Supply Chain Americas.
This conference, held in New York in October, was organized by Patrick DiDomenico, president and founder of InspireKM Consulting, and Joshua Fireman, president and founder of the strategic consulting firm Fireman & Company, an Epiq Company. This was the first year of this conference, which was organized to fill the gap left when another KM conference – one that had long been held in New York – moved to Chicago.
The two-day conference featured two keynote speakers. Andrea Alliston kicked off the first day with a talk on leading through change, complexity and disruption. Mark Smolik gave the second-day keynote, speaking on the topic of winning strategies for new business: insights on innovation from a chief legal officer.
LawNext host Bob Ambrogi was at the conference and sat down live with each of the speakers after their keynotes for the interviews in today’s episode.
Thank You To Our Sponsors
This episode of LawNext is generously made possible by our sponsors. We appreciate their support and hope you will check them out.
TrialPad, an easy-to-use app to organize, annotate, and present evidence
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