Digital Transformation in Law Firms: Part IV – Enable Your Workforce

SCOTT DUDA: Welcome. I'm Scott Duda, leader of Cherry Bekaert's Professional Services industry. Thanks for joining us today as we talk law firm digital transformation.

SCOTT DUDA: We're going to talk today about enabling your workforce, and with me today is John Trader, Director of Business Applications within Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory.

JOHN TRADER: Thanks, Scott, for inviting me to join you today. I'm looking forward to our conversation.

SCOTT DUDA: John, what does the Digital Platform and Analytics team do to help our clients with digital transformation? We hear so much about it.

JOHN TRADER: I talk a lot about digital tools and software, but we always define digital transformation from a people, process, and technology standpoint, in that order. People are the most important part of an organization's digital transformation journey; we always acknowledge the human element as the starting point.

JOHN TRADER: Our end goal as advisers and technologists is to make it easier for our clients' people to do their jobs. The Cherry Bekaert Digital Platform and Analytics team focuses on providing digital software solutions that help our customers do three things: automate, connect, and decide.

JOHN TRADER: Automate is using digital tools to automate standard business processes like billing, invoicing, expense management, the financial close process, employee onboarding, and many others. Connect is delivering digital platforms and solutions for content management and collaboration to enable your workforce to work from anywhere and at any time, and to collaborate with clients and external partners. Decide is visualizing the key performance and leading indicators of your organization so your team knows the score at all times.

SCOTT DUDA: I think automate, connect, and decide is how you like to think about digital transformation. How do firms automate, connect, and decide to enable their workforce in this digital age?

JOHN TRADER: The key is giving your workforce the tools they need to work from anywhere and do what they need from where they are. We've seen that take effect during the pandemic, and we've helped many firms and their employees work from anywhere.

JOHN TRADER: Second, give them the training they need. Provide training on the platforms and enable them as citizen developers with no-code/low-code digital platforms and tool sets so they can enhance their own jobs by enhancing the tool sets and platforms.

JOHN TRADER: Third, provide the guidance they require. You can't just turn your workforce loose; you must give them direction, a decision framework, the tool sets they need, and the strategy that goes along with it.

SCOTT DUDA: What's been the historical resistance for law firms to focus on digital platforms?

JOHN TRADER: Many law firms still do a lot via paper because that's how it's been done for a long time, and it seems easier to many people. There's also a reliance on institutional or tribal knowledge rather than documented processes and procedures.

JOHN TRADER: It's sometimes hard for people in law offices, with day-to-day work and busy client schedules, to find time for focused training to learn new digital ways. The key is helping clients dedicate time in their day-to-day schedules for the training they need to be effective.

SCOTT DUDA: Your digital group has been busy helping law firms with digital transformation. Can you give some use cases or case studies of the work we've been doing?

JOHN TRADER: I want to start with data analytics and business intelligence. We began with a small project for a national law firm to help them visualize their financials. That initial engagement quickly grew into building client scorecards and team lead scorecards to measure how the firm was performing for clients and employees.

JOHN TRADER: The firm is now data-informed and can make better strategic decisions. Data doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, but it doesn't lie, and we specialize in tools such as Tableau and Power BI for these data visualizations.

JOHN TRADER: Another use case is a law practice for which we delivered a full-featured intranet and Microsoft Teams-based project management capabilities. It included departmental focus areas, office-specific sites for content management, document retention policies, and access controls for security. It changed how the practice did planning and document management for the better.

JOHN TRADER: One more example is a firm for which we built a completely custom case management tool for their international law practice. This was specific to a unique part of their business because there was nothing off the shelf that fit the bill.

JOHN TRADER: In the law professional services industry, Cherry Bekaert has many clients on their digital transformation journeys, and we have integrated with systems such as Praw and 3E, as well as others, to create a holistic technology roadmap using digital platforms.

SCOTT DUDA: Where are some of the biggest efficiencies firms can expect to gain from digital transformation?

JOHN TRADER: Common needs for most law firms can be addressed by emerging technologies. Focus on automation, connection, and decision areas when investing in technology solutions.

JOHN TRADER: Key areas where our law firm clients have seen significant return on investment include improved and automated operational processes. We don't want to automate bad processes; we want to streamline processes before automating.

JOHN TRADER: Other benefits include increased client satisfaction, reduced firm risk, reduced administrative costs, increased collaboration across the workforce and with clients, and smoother onboarding of new resources and teammates.

SCOTT DUDA: What tools should firms consider across areas of their business?

JOHN TRADER: Tools to consider include business intelligence, case management, document management and content management, billing, contacts, accounting, calendaring and scheduling, task management, client portals, online payments, and time and expense tracking. Those are just a few things to consider.

SCOTT DUDA: That is a lot of information and process. How do firms get started without feeling overwhelmed?

JOHN TRADER: Just get started somewhere. Digital transformation can sound daunting, but it doesn't have to be if you break it into bite-sized chunks. I suggest firms start with decide—business intelligence. A set of key metrics will help you understand where you are now and where to focus next.

JOHN TRADER: Next, invest in a collaboration platform such as Microsoft 365 to help with content and collaboration within your organization and with partners and clients. Then automate repeatable business processes using your content and collaboration platform. Start with one area, then another; success breeds success on the automation journey.

JOHN TRADER: In short, automate, connect, and decide, but consider starting with decide, then connect, then automate. You don't need home runs at the start; singles and doubles are fine.

SCOTT DUDA: Great discussion, John. Lots to think about as we navigate changing technology and a workforce that demands more efficient and effective ways to do their jobs.

SCOTT DUDA: If anyone wants to expand on this conversation, our contact information is included where you access the podcast. We'd love to talk about how we can be your guide forward.