Building a tech-enabled culture in law firms

Jan 16, 2024

Conan Hines, Director of Legal Technology at Fried Frank, discusses the importance of building a tech-enabled culture in law firms. He emphasizes the need for trust, starting small, and balancing short-term impact with long-term goals. The role of vendors and incentives for adoption are also explored. Integrating technology training into legal training and demonstrating the value of technology are key. Having fun, stepping away, and embracing hobbies and perspectives are also highlighted as important aspects of problem-solving in a tech-enabled culture.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

Building an R&D Function and Tech-Enabled Culture in Law Firms

02:37 • 25min

Importance of Having Fun, Stepping Away, and Disconnecting in a Tech-Enabled Culture

27:19 • 2min

Adapting to Technology in the Legal Field and Humanizing the Problem

29:22 • 3min

The Importance of Hobbies and Perspectives in Problem-Solving

32:04 • 2min

In this episode of the Fringe Legal podcast, host Ab chats with Conan Hines, Director of Legal Technology at Fried Frank, about building a tech-enabled culture in law firms. Conan shares insights from his previous roles at Clifford Chance and other law firms, highlighting the importance of understanding the role of legal technology and the psychology and behavior of users when it comes to successful adoption and change management.

Conan emphasizes the need for building trust with lawyers and finding those who are curious and open to tech-enabled solutions. He suggests starting small with bite-sized engagements to build trust over time. He also discusses the value of creating a foundation for tech adoption and balancing short-term impact with long-term goals.

The conversation delves into the role of vendors in adoption, with Conan highlighting the need for a strong partnership and a transparent framework for success. He stresses the importance of vendors having a real adoption strategy and sharing learnings from what has worked in the past.

Ab and Conan also discuss the challenge of incentives and tracking adoption. They explore the idea of integrating technology training into legal training to emphasize the value and importance of tech skills for lawyers. Ultimately, the key to successful adoption and building a tech-enabled culture in law firms lies in trust, continuous communication, and demonstrating the value of technology.

Key takeaways:

Building a tech-enabled culture requires understanding the role of legal technology and the psychology and behavior of users.
Trust is essential for successful adoption. Lawyers need to believe that tech solutions can help them.
Adoption plans should be simplified and tailored to individual users.
Integration of technology training into legal training can help emphasize the value of tech skills for lawyers.
Vendors should have a strong adoption strategy and share learnings from past successes.

Uncommon learning:

Tech adoption requires a partnership between law firms and vendors, with a focus on transparency and continuous communication.