A company’s digital legal transformation is not a simple technical project. It is a major step in the company's development that involves changes in several areas. Tools, work processes and collaboration are constantly changing. Here we share nine key success factors defined from the feedback of our customers' experience over the last 20 years.
Heads of Legal, typically the General Counsel or CLO, are usually responsible for initiating digital transformation projects.However, they will need visible support from senior management and, even more importantly, in convincing the legal department to join in the new initiative.It is this endorsement from upper management that makes it possible to accomplish a legal department’s digital transformation under the most favorable conditions.
Convincing operational teams is the second essential step. This will be made easier if they find it in their best interest. The key therefore is to highlight the benefits of digital transformation for everyone. These include:
Digitizing legal departments has an impact on corporate governance.Legal processes implemented through business software quite often result in a style shift from vertical to horizontal. This implies a change in collaboration from less hierarchical to more collaborative.
All departments are impacted when the legal department is digitized. However, it is not possible to leave each department to itself to digitize on its own.Legal directors must therefore convince the CIO to move the project forward. The CIO’s IT team will be responsible for overseeing data security in the chosen tool.
Digital transformation of legal services also involves digitizing the customer journey. This must be clearly defined. Selected tools will then have to satisfy this customer journey optimally.
Giving visibility into a digital transformation project’s progress is important.This will make it easier for legal departments and internal clients to buy in. Project schedules should be regularly communicated internally.
Digital transformation implies the questioning of well-established practices. It is a collective effort that deserves credit.Demonstrating results and communicating quickly on successes achieved helps maintain everyone's involvement over time.
It may seem simpler at first to modify legal software to adapt it to its users.However, changing practices to adapt users to the software is a much more sustainable option. Yielding to pressure from a few users does not create a differentiating advantage in the long term.
Finally, choosing the right partner is crucial to successful digital transformation. This partner should meet the following criteria:
They must be able to help your teams overcome obstacles before, during and after the deployment of the digital transformation project.
