IT and the Law

Tony Williams believes that there is no need for an adversarial relationship between lawyers and IT departments. The cause of such a situation can be found in a failure to communicate and the maintenance of unreasonable expectations. Lawyers should spend time explaining what it needed and why, while technologists need to understand how the business operates and what is really important. Central to this communication and understanding is that the lead must be taken by the managing partner.

The legal market is producing real opportunities for IT to add real value to a firm by using technology to drive efficiency by online drafting, document assembly, file management, readily accessible and relevant know how systems. A three way partnership between IT professionals, the lawyers and the client in effect already exists. Yet this is compromised by the failure of IT departments not knowing what is expected of them and lawyers not knowing what they can deliver. Systems such as practice management systems do not generate a single penny of extra client income, but if used effectively can be a major boost to the business.

Full article on The Legal IT Forum