“Most of the law firms that I know are looking to consolidate most of their platforms somewhere within the Microsoft or AWS cloud so they get a holistic view of what their risk is, where their data is, and where their application is set,” said Preece. “This is a standard model, being able to see where devices are, where data sets are, who’s accessing them, and provides a level of security.” However, despite Stout’s compelling cloud case, Preece went on to say that law firms are “quite a way off getting to” implementing overarching cloud systems. “It’s a big journey for legal people to understand how to adopt the cloud effectively. But the alternative is that when lawyers and clients are exchanging data over email, they are saving data in different places. This is quite an uncomfortable journey for the client who could ask where’s my information? These are the real problems. “Microsoft can help with standard policies that can apply to devices, infrastructure, and applications, to lock it down. That makes the firm compliant with essential cyber security frameworks but it also changes the working culture, and asking a lawyer to work in a different way is tricky.” Getting the Right Verdict Despite the advantages, the attitudes of decision makers, as well as those using it, towards adopting new technologies can be
professionals want to walk into a meeting room, access the AV set up easily and run their meeting effectively without any delays or unnecessary extra steps.” While the legal teams may be more interested in their jobs than the new meeting rooms, Preece says that law firms have been almost forced to adopt new technologies, like collaboration platforms and cloud storage, as a result of customer demand. “Gone are the days of people assigning work just because of the name,” said Preece. “Certainly big names have influence but when people employ law firms a key question they’ll have is how am I going to conduct business with you? Because I want to be working with you again and again. “This is where deal rooms come in quite nicely. All documents are shared there, all the past work we’ve done, all the precedents and the legal work we worked on and the advice we’ve given is there for you to see. “We are seeing this with compliance statements too. Ten years ago big clients would send lawyers compliance statements and they would have to confirm whether they are compliant, partially compliant, or non compliant, along with good reasons for not being compliant. Now those lawyers would get struck off if they’re not compliant. “Clients are driving some changes because they want to work with easy organisations that can demonstrate they are secure, demonstrate their data is in a good place, and can demonstrate they are easy to work with.”
Gareth Preece Chief Operating Officer
doherty.co.uk
Gone are the days of people assigning work just because of the name.
the biggest obstacle to overcome. According to The Insight Partners
latest research study on the Legal Case Management Software Market, the global legal case management software market size is projected to reach $1.91 billion by 2028. This may be encouraging but the consensus seems to be that the main criteria for a successful solution is that it’s “easy to use”. “A first-rate UC and AV setup is incredibly important to law firms,” said Crewdson. “Meeting rooms are important spaces where firms build trust with their clients, and having high quality AV technology, meeting space décor, and even good coffee has a significant part to play in creating a positive and reassuring experience. “Many law firms are interested in adopting the newest technologies for this reason and to keep one step ahead of their peers. “Every law firm has unique problems they’re looking to solve with technology, but all firms are looking for technology that is as quick and as painless to operate as possible. Busy legal
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