The Handbook for Legal Innovation

by Nicola Shaver

Overview

Although legal innovation is critical for law firms, with clients pushing for more efficient, cost-effective, and automated services, very little has been written about how to drive successful enterprise-wide transformation efforts. As innovation and legal operations functions proliferate globally, Nicola Shaver has written the first definitive book to guide legal professionals through setting up an effective innovation function and driving successful culture change and initiatives across a legal organization. In The Handbook for Legal Innovation, Shaver, the 2020 ILTA Legal Innovation Leader of the Year and a College of Law Practice Management Fellow, outlines how to set up an effective strategy for innovation, provides practical guides for conducting current-state audits, establishes frameworks to help identify project priorities, and outlines how to build and grow the right team. With 20 years of experience in the legal industry, including a decade each of practicing law and driving innovation initiatives in large legal organizations, Shaver draws upon her experience as well as broad industry knowledge to inform this practical guide. In addition to strategy suggestions, the Handbook delves deeply into methodologies for change. Shaver provides an overview of effective methods drawn from other industries that can be leveraged within legal to support and supercharge innovation efforts, equipping lawyers and legal innovation leaders with tools that will help them drive real change within their organizations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787429147
Publisher:	Globe Law and Business
Publication date:	05/18/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	294
File size:	6 MB

Table of Contents

About the author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi by Oz Benamram, chief knowledge and innovation officer at Simpson Thacher and Bartlett LLP Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii The boom in legal technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii Leading innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix Who this book is for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi A note on terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii PART 1: Establishing and Building your Innovation Function Chapter 1: The impetus for change Why change, why now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter 2: Establishing a vision Crafting your vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Checklist: Setting a vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chapter 3: Innovation strategies for culture change Developing a strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Sample strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Examples of broad educational programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Sample engagement best practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Checklist: Establishing a strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Chapter 4: Planning for the future Three Horizons theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Innovation ambitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Budgeting for future growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Checklist: Planning for multi-horizon growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Chapter 5: Building a portfolio of initiatives What is an audit?..................................................... 48 Sample knowledge audit questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Sample innovation audit questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Building a project portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 SWOT analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Client-facing initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Listening programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Checklist: Identifying strategic projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Chapter 6: Determining priorities Categorizing projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Value versus effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Project streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Business planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Checklist: Prioritizing strategic initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Chapter 7: Creating and growing an innovation function Roles in KM and innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Organizational structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Building your team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Hiring hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Checklist: Building your team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 PART 2: Methodologies for Change Chapter 8: Supercharging your strategy TNT – Tiny Noticeable Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Locating bright spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Appreciative inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 A note on mental health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Checklist: Optimistic change approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Chapter 9: Change management What is change management? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 The change curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Change planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Building your change team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Overcoming resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Influencing without authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 A note on process change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Checklist: Managing change during a complex project . . . . . . . . . . 141 Chapter 10: Communications and storytelling Developing a communications plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Communicating the vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Five tips for communicating your vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Elevator pitches....................................................... 152 Launch communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Low key change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Seven Touches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 WIIFM messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Personas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 The power of storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 The difference between hearing and listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Ten steps for effective communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Appealing to ethos, pathos, and logos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Checklist: Planning for effective communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Chapter 11: Creative problem-solving and process improvement Scientific method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Service design and design thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Legal design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Systems thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 How to apply design principles in legal............................. 181 Manufacturing methodologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Upstream problem-solving and problem-prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Two root cause analysis tools you can use now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Checklist: Problem-solving and process improvement techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Chapter 12: Approaches to work and ways of working Law as a business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Michael Porter’s Five Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Red and blue ocean theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 The Innovator’s Dilemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Software development methodologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Application to legal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Checklist: Effective ways of working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Chapter 13: Product management Product strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 The Business Model Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 The product development lifecycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Product management tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Tips for productization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 A note on value-adds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 Checklist: Building successful products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Chapter 14: Incentives and adoption Strategies for adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Case study: Strategizing for adoption at King Wood Mallesons (KWM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Planning for adoption................................................ 259 Assessing the behavior change necessary for adoption . . . . . . . . . . 265 The adoption curve and the virtue of patience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 The qualities of adoptable innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 Locking in the old with the new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 Incentives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 A note on disincentives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Remedial adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 Case study: Adoption success story at Nauta Dutilh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 Adoption metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Word of mouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 Checklist: Adoption techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 About Globe Law and Business........................................ 294

Editorial Reviews

More and more law firms are realizing that innovation is not just a client expectation or a nice public relations story. As in other businesses, new service delivery models can be very good for the firm’s own bottom line. However, it is sometimes difficult to determine what to build, and it is always difficult to drive the necessary change. Nikki Shaver’s Handbook for Legal Innovation does the industry a great service by providing a roadmap for not only identifying opportunities to innovate, but also for driving those projects to success.

Brad Blickstein

Innovation is not a destination, but a direction of travel. Where are your clients headed? How will you make sure you are there with them? Nikki has captured a human-centric, practical approach for propelling innovation in your firm. Look here and get moving.

Heath Harris

This is the most practical guidance for innovation in law firms I have seen. As one could expect from Nikki Shaver, it is comprehensive, filled with useful tips and frameworks and well written. Built on strong theoretical frameworks this will be the go-to guide for any law firm serious about innovation.

Jeroen Plink