Racing for Legal Tech Advantage
Is there a Digital Transformation stampede out there? Yes there certainly is. Consider these facts:
AI is expected to add nearly $16 trillion to the global economy by 2030, an astounding world changing transformation (PricewaterhouseCoopers).
Companies with AI budgets in the $0.5 to $5 million range increased 55% year over year (ref. Appens White Paper 15Jun2021).
Two thirds of senior executives interviewed plan to increase their AI budget this year (McKinsey report).
Epic Paradigm Shift — Law Included
Law firms are not exempt from this worldwide disruption. In a recent Forbes article Mark Cohen comments:
“Legal is the tag-along in an epic business paradigm shift that is bigger than any individual, business function, profession, industry, or society. It is a tectonic change in how we live, work, and exchange goods and services. … The warp-speed of business digital transformation has widened the divide separating digitally advanced companies … from the pack. Digital laggards are not only increasingly non-competitive but also face extinction. The greatest peril of the digital transformation journey is the failure to embark on it. This applies not only to companies but also to individuals and business functions — LAW INCLUDED.” (Mark A. Cohen, CEO of Legal Mosaic, Legal Change Derives From Business Digital Transformation, Forbes online article, Aug 12, 2021)
Predators!
What predator lives next door to your law firm? Is there a dragon out there? Yes there is. It is a relatively new species, called Digital Transformation Exponential Growth that most recently has become dragon-size. Traditional business growth at a linear rate leaves an ever increasing gap between the status quo and what is possible, a widening disruption potential, as the chart below conceptually illustrates. That law firm devouring dragon lives in the region of the gap between what’s possible and traditional more linear business transformation. It is better to be the disruptor than to be disrupted. Just ask Yellow Cab or Hilton Hotels or Storefront Retailers. Uber, Airbnb, and Amazon, to name just a few, have leveraged digital innovations to win the market.
Readiness
In this stampede to transform, many law firms are evaluating point solutions and are besieged by software developers to evaluate their shiny new tool. In many cases a disaster is waiting to happen as information infrastructure weaknesses can cause a successful proof of concept pilot project to be delayed or derailed and precious time and money is wasted. Is your information infrastructure in a high state of readiness? My colleague John Lindsey has written an article on that very topic, The AI Economy: Are You Ready?
It is a great 4 min read which you will find very insightful. You can find it at https://johnl-10421.medium.com/readiness-its-as-close-as-you-can-get-to-a-guarantee-adb873bc088c
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