The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/116777
smart moves IT Enriches Legal Services 10 TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY THROUGH A DATA MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 1 Get involved in initial planning meetings, internally and with the client. In order to manage the data efficiently, you need to know what to expect, how much to expect and in what format to expect it. We know the capabilities of our products and solutions, so no information is trivial to the technology team. 2 Find out who will provide the data and the format in which the data will be provided. Is that the best source available and the best format for the project/matter and business requirements? 3 If possible and if there is time, perform an initial review of the data. Are the data complete? Are pages missing? Do you need to obtain the data from another source? 4 Establish a naming convention for the data. Once the naming convention is approved and ready to be adopted, promote it to the project team. They can use the same naming convention for data they create, and consistency across the board will reap huge efficiencies for the project. 5 Define who will need access to the data and when. 6 Create a guide of what relevant stakeholders want and need to achieve. Are there any deal-breaking issues for the client? This is a good segue between data management and utilizing other tools you have that could prove very valuable to the project. 7 Understand what type of results stakeholders expect. Do they want reports, reviews, etc.? What is the real objective of providing results in a specific format? 8 Look for ways to refine the review process. How can we drive efficiencies and make the process more transparent? 9 Know your tools. Which systems/tools/platforms will address all the needs for this project? Think about the functionality of the systems you already have, such as your DMS and any document formatting tools. 10 32 Keep in mind that solutions don't have to be over-the-top, elaborate or require extensive time to deliver. For example, we set up a centralized email address within the first 24 hours of receiving instructions. All messages were sent to this email address, which was available to the whole team. The team communicated internally through this email address, and everyone could see what was coming in each day. Peer to Peer The results of approaching this matter's data in this way were: • All critical deadlines were met • Staffing requirements were managed effectively to deliver the work • Our clients — who monitored our progress — were satisfied and reassured by the consistency in matter management procedures Data management may be a difficult issue to deal with, but it also provides opportunities for innovation. Legal technology professionals can apply data management efforts to further utilize IT services and applications in legal service offerings. This was the first time our technology team and their capabilities stood side-by-side with the legal services provided. We were a support mechanism that made the impossible possible, making the overwhelming much more manageable. The lessons learned during this experience opened my eyes to a new career path that I'm passionate about pursuing. The Catalyst for Change The project continued in intensity; so much that I worked on it exclusively for more than six months. It soon became apparent the support we provided was not only essential to the continued success of this large-scale project but to any matter. We had set a new standard for the way in which matters were run. Our responsiveness and solutions could be applied across the board to drive efficiencies, add value and target risk management issues. Why did we have to stop there? Well we didn't. Soon after the completion of this project, the firm recognized a need to draw on our capabilities to complement our legal services across the firm. Thus, the Legal Technology Solutions (LTS) group was formed. And with that, my role as the LTS Manager was born, with responsibilities to: • Act as the interface between the lawyers, our clients and our technology solutions