Once the areas for improvement have been identified and the objectives we pursue with the implementation of the Legal Tech strategy have been prioritized, the next step is to decide whether we need a new provider of these services or whether we can find resources within the company (for example, the innovation department) to support us in the process. It will be a question of budget, resources and objectives that will have to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
Identification
If we choose to hire a Legal Tech provider, here are some tips on how to identify the best provider for our project. Let us not forget that this is a new, constantly growing field, and there are no established search engines or directories where references can be found easily.
Carrying out thorough research in order to identify the Legal Tech providers that offer the service we need will be a step in itself that can consume a great deal of our time.
Beyond Google searches or resorting to maps of Legal Tech companies, organizations such as CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium) or the ACC (Association of Corporate Counsel) are doing good work to facilitate the exchange of information and experiences among lawyers. These are usually an effective resource for gathering practical information beyond marketing materials. It is common to see in this space collaboration between corporate in-house legal departments regarding their experiences and strategies for implementing these solutions.
How to analyze a Legal Tech tool?
To analyze a Legal Tech tool and how it will perform in the business environment where we want to implement it, the following aspects should be taken into account:
– Its integration capability with the operating systems existing in the company and commonly used by the legal team.
– The functionalities it provides, its flexibility and its capacity for customization and adaptation to the specific needs of the project. Some of the solutions are surprisingly rigid when exceptions need to be established to process automation systems.
– The ease of use it offers, the learning curve that will be required of the members of the legal team or the other members of the company (sales, purchasing, marketing) who have to use and work with this new tool. This aspect is directly related to the adoption rate of the new tools.
– The data analysis capability the tools offer. Although this is not the main objective, it is interesting to know which tools can help us better understand how our team works or the way in which we provide legal services. Obtaining this data can give us new perspectives on our work and reveal shortcomings or potential that until then had remained hidden.
– Its pricing structure. Not all Legal Tech companies operate under the same pricing model, and this can be the difference between being locked in for 3 or 5 years with a tool or having the flexibility to change provider if things do not turn out as expected or a better tool emerges on the market. As in the development of technological tools, there are usually three types of fees: (i) a price for the construction and development of the tool, especially if it is a customized tool; (ii) a license fee for the use of the product or platform. It can be an annual or monthly fee giving access to an unlimited number of users, or an annual payment for a limited number of users; (iii) a price per hour, for example, for maintenance matters, training on the use of the tool or additional advice. The good news is that the construction cost is an expense that can be amortized. However, annual fees are part of operating costs and cannot be amortized.
– Alignment with your company’s security and other internal policies; the requirements from a technical point of view will set clear limits on which providers you can work with and which you cannot. This can be a major barrier, especially in the current context where many of the companies are startups that do not have established structures and resources to be able to respond to all of their clients’ needs.
– Alignment with privacy, data protection, and other essential legal requirements in the jurisdiction where the project will be deployed. Priority emphasis on the area of data protection, since if legal documents are processed, it is likely that much of the information handled by the tool will be of a confidential nature or subject to special protection.
originally published at thetechnolawgist
