The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/11430
LESSONS LEARNED internal reviews, education and training are integral to our risk management strategy, our firm Compliance Control Center is the technological heart of our efforts. THE FUTURE OF COMPLIANCE TECHNOLOGY Do you remember the sci-fi thriller “Minority Report,” where the police officer played by Tom Cruise stands in front of a projected, 3-D computer dashboard which he controls via a gesture-based interface using his hands? It provides him with instant analytics, alerts, trends and projections which enable him to hunt down and catch suspects. Our Compliance Control Center isn’t quite at that level of Hollywood sophistication yet (that’s our vision for 2030). But it does give us real-time, integrated information, combined with centralized policy, confidentiality and process management. The net result is that today we have unprecedented visibility and control over our environment. Our control center includes a Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) dashboard that helps us identify, prioritize and manage responses to a variety of business issues. It also provides a unified view and oversight of client intake processes. But the key capability it delivers is unified, firmwide policy management and compliance tracking. This includes making sure that policies are communicated, outside counsel guidelines are understood and followed, confidential information is managed and tracked appropriately, and that time is billed accurately (yes, some lawyers still bill by the hour). It also centralizes internal notifications and alerts, along with compliance reporting that we need to undertake for management, internal audits or external audiences. HOW WE CREATED THIS FUTURE Our Compliance Control Center was a labor of technological love that continues to evolve. One thing that’s as true in 2020 as it was in 2010 is that many vendors promise a “single solution” for broadly defined problems. But the reality is that even in our future, firms rely on many different vendors that provide “best of breed” tools best suited for handling specific tasks. Today, some of those are remotely hosted “cloud” applications, some are more traditional on-site software applications, and some are hybrids of the two. Successful firms have always found the right software to meet their specific needs and have then integrated those tools into their environments and business processes. I’m happy to report that this is much easier to do in 2020. You can understand why if 108 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer you consider the 2010 industry trend towards master data management. This important architectural innovation in data management provided law firms with a single, “best and blessed” standard repository of key information consumed by people and applications throughout the firm. Our compliance and risk management processes touch many firm systems and business processes. So today, our firm leverages a Master Data Directory which provides a single source of authoritative information that’s shared and updated across all of our individual applications in real time. This data includes client, matter, user and group information. Our master data repository communicates bi-directionally with our Compliance Control Center, providing us with instant updates. This data architecture also provides broader benefits across the firm, enabling our IT team to streamline key business processes, improve lawyer productivity and provide better management reporting. OUR MOTTO: Free Data Everywhere In order to build that Master Data Directory, we needed the right underlying technology and industry-wide support from vendors. Thankfully, in 2020, the vast majority of legal software providers have now embraced open data standards and provide open APIs that allow law firms to plug their software into any environment and share information. This wasn’t always the case. A decade ago, a few companies tried to lock down our firm’s own business information by adding application-level encryption and even removing API functionality when they “upgraded,” our systems. They then attempted to charge us exorbitant fees for “new” APIs to regain access to the information which they held hostage. Those particular relationships (and companies) didn’t survive the decade; vendors that work against the interests of their clients rarely prosper in the long term. Coming out of that experience, our firm’s IT organization worked with its peers across the industry to educate client- focused vendors to set clear expectations regarding open access and standards. THE SUGGESTION: Start Preparing for the Future Today Which brings us to the final message: 2020 may seem like a long way off, but you can and should be taking steps now to prepare yourself and your firm for what’s to come. The future that awaits you brings greater risks and stricter compliance requirements. Your organization will face tough, and often unexpected, challenges. Yet the technology, integration and information management capabilities available to firms are also evolving to meet these challenges.