New Zealand’s LawFest 2023 just wrapped up and our team was thrilled to attend and network with so many amazing legal professionals. Amidst the hundreds of attendees, there was a lot of buzz around industry trends. With more than 20 speakers sharing practical insights about innovating and leveraging technology to improve law firms and legal services, you bet there were topics we’re eager to share. In this article we’ll recap our top five findings like how to be more client centric, where artificial intelligence fits in your firm, workflows and more. Let’s dive in!

1. Putting clients at the center of your law firm

Creating an experience that wows clients makes all the difference when it comes to how clients engage, retain, and recommend your law firm. During PwC NewLaw’s Client Centered Innovation session we learned why putting the client experience at the center of your practice is crucial for the long-term success of your firm. Prioritizing the needs and expectations of your client will help you ensure that your law firm’s legal services will be tailored to meet the individual's needs. It will also help you build positive experiences that result in increased referrals and recommendations which can help build your firm’s reputation. To improve your client experience, you will need to be innovative and exceed expectations of how clients may already expect you’ll address their needs. Placing client experience at the heart of what your firm does will help your firm stand out from the competition and grow your business. 

2. Using artificial intelligence to improve experiences

One way law firms can improve client experience is by using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The legal industry in general is on the verge of transformative change with the introduction of AI technologies. Several sessions during LawFest focused on how firms can leverage AI. During “The Future of Legal Work: Leveraging AI to Boost Efficiency and Client Services” Nick Abrahams from Norton Rose Fullbright shared why lawyers must adopt a progressive mindset and embrace the benefits of AI to stay competitive in today's market. About 96% of lawyers who were asked at a previous conference felt that generative AI would impact their job within two years. With this in mind, AI provides lawyers with new opportunities to maximize efficiency and streamline certain tasks, to accomplish more with less (when used correctly). One of the tools law firms should investigate is Large Language Models (LLM) like ChatGPT. Abrahams says in the future it will be very hard to be successful without it. An LLM is a type of AI algorithm that uses deep learning techniques and massively large data sets to understand, summarize, generate, and predict new content. LLM’s can help law firms conduct legal research, draft legal documents, generate new content, and improve client communication to increase productivity of legal work within law firms so lawyers can focus on more strategic tasks. Ultimately, law firms need to get to the point where lawyers have the right AI tools to evolve solutions themselves.

3. Working differently through design thinking

As law firms adapt to a rapidly changing environment and look for ways to disrupt the traditional model to gain a competitive advantage, they will need to think about bold, creative, and exciting strategies. Design thinking paired with leveraging technology to transform your practice make a world of a difference in adding value to the client experience. Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that emphasizes empathy, collaborating, and innovation. It encourages a human-centered approach to addressing challenges by understanding the needs and perspectives of clients and stakeholders. Law firms can apply design thinking to their practices by focusing on understanding what their clients' goals, concerns, and expectations are. This will help enhance the client experience and show the client lawyers are helping meet their specific needs. Design thinking can also help firms promote collaboration and teamwork with professionals in other fields such as technology experts to develop creative solutions for legal problems. Using this method encourages experimentation especially when lawyers can adopt an open mindset welcoming feedback to make improvements and deliver better legal services for clients.

4. Reimagining workflows

With several conversations taking place about how law firms should be leveraging AI and why they should be focusing on the client experience, reimagining the traditional law firm workflow will help firms get there. At LawFest there were several tech talks about adopting new technology for better communication, automation, and organization. Reimagining workflows with new tools can increase productivity, eliminate bottlenecks, automate repetitive tasks and streamline processes that need to be improved. Law firms can also reimagine workflows to improve client services and satisfaction by offering faster turnaround, more transparency, and reduced costs. Some ways law firms can reimagine their workflows is by implementing a legal practice management platform that manages and automates documents, matters, billing, communications, client intake, time tracking, and integrates with tools your firm already uses so your team can focus on my high-value tasks.

5. Harnessing your differences to build an authentic culture

We were excited to hear conversations about the importance of building a unique law firm that harnesses differences. One of the greatest pressures is wanting to fit in which has proven to stifle innovation. So why bother? Instead, law firms can build a team culture and business that makes the best use out of where team members differ rather than trying to be the same. When hiring, think culture adds not fits. Building a unique law firm will help foster creativity, innovation, and diverse perspectives. Choosing this approach will help your firm create an inclusive and supportive work environment where employees are motivated and happy, which will relay externally. Leveraging team differences can help your firm better serve a diverse client base which ultimately builds better client relationships and your firm’s reputation as socially responsible in our connected world.

These conversations all tie in nicely to why it is so important for law firms to reimagine their existing workflows for better collaboration and create processes that ensure an excellent customer experience. We look forward to next year’s LawFest and the valuable insights speakers will share!

Didn’t get a chance to connect with our team? Book a demo to learn more about how Actionstep can help reimagine your law firm’s workflow.