Blogs

Members recently discussed data stewardship, analyzing the financial impact of branch offices, and more. Explore curated sources on these topics including some from ILTA’s treasure chest.

DATA STEWARDSHIP

Data can prove most beneficial when applying stewardship. A question recently arose about our peers approach to data stewardship, the management and oversite of data’s content and metadata, in their firms. In Rick Varju’s blog “Law Firm Mobile Data Security,” he stresses that in order to develop a good policy for data stewardship, support and commitment from top management is imperative. To develop a plan for how best to steward your data, read “How Can You Tell Good Data from Bad Data?” For insight into ways IT can enforce data stewardship, review “Deep Thoughts on Tiered Data.” For instruction on making improvements in your data quality, review “Using Big Data to Measure Marketing and Business Development ROI.” Both of these recordings hail from the 2014 ILTA conference.

BRANCH OFFICE BUSINESS IMPACT

Whether a branch office has great impact or not often depends on additional factors beyond revenue. The many data points feeding into impact include influence, client access, cross-selling and much more, and the factors determine the value of any office. Best practices in profitability can provide insight into measuring impact throughout a firm including its branches. ILTA offered two webinars on law firm profitability this summer, “Law Firm Profitability: Best Practices and Worst Mistakes” and “Law Firm Profitability: Best Practices 2 – Expense Handling.” However, in assessing impact pay heed to Harvard Business Review’s article, “The Five Traps of Performance Measurement.” If you plan on attending ILTACON 2015, consider the Legal Project Management session discussing firm value and much more.

SOMETHING EXTRA – Project Management Survey and ILTACON 2015 Previews

Does your organization have a dedicated project management position or team? See the latest trends in project management and legal project management in the 2015 ILTA Project Management Survey. Determine how your organization compares.

With ILTACON 2015 less than a week away, I offer a preview of sessions related to mobility and business and process improvement from three session planners. I will also post a blog during ILTACON 2015 for those unable to attend in which I will highlight sessions to help you determine which recordings to access later. To see past recommended sessions visit But Wait… There’s ILTACON 2015 Preview 1 and Preview 2.

"Tools That Change the Speed of Legal Service Delivery,” Tuesday, September 1, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

This fast-paced session will cover four must-have products in both the transactional and litigation spheres. Each panelist will demonstrate a new product, discuss the licensing model for the product and answer audience questions. Whether you purchase or implement new technologies in your organization, you will benefit from this session. Learn what’s next before returning to your desk from ILTACON 2015.

“Legal Technology Innovation: Bolstering AND Destroying the Legal Profession,” Tuesday, September 1, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

This is another session back by popular demand from the 2014 ILTA conference with many updates. Hear from five technologists discussing whether or not technology will replace lawyers. As an audience, be prepared to join or contest them in this rousing debate.

“Engineering Successful Workplace Collaboration Between Extroverts and Introverts,” Tuesday, September 1, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

If calming department dynamics keeps you up at night more than technology taking over lawyers, consider attending this session on getting the most out of your introverted and extroverted employees. Learn how to communicate well with differing personalities; but, before you attend, discover your type by taking this personality test. (Hint: You can select up to two answers per question.)

Even if you are unable to attend, I encourage you to read some of your peers’ favorite sessions in knowledge management, litigation support, security, and financials. You can use these top picks to identify which of the recorded sessions you would like to access after the completion of ILTACON 2015.

Note for conference attendees: A final update was made to the session grid over the weekend. The most recent version is available on the ILTACON 2015 Agenda page.