Eat the frog: using legal tech to tackle the most complex and time-intensive real estate work
A common difficulty felt by lawyers and property professionals is how to digest the vast amount of data that relates to each property, development or estate. From leases and title registers to planning reports, management information, valuation data, compliance records and so on, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know where to start in order […]
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LPM INSIGHTS ROLL
Technology transfusion
If only it were as easy as a Star Trek Borg assimilation – being plugged into the mainframe platform and obtaining the mindset needed for the digital transformation. Over the past 20 years in practice, and the last five in consultancy, I’ve been immersed in digital transformation – working from an SME private practice background […]
NEW DIVERSITY
Q What is neurodiversity? A The term is used to recognise that everyone’s brains are wired differently. In HR circles, neurodiversity is the movement to create a more inclusive working environment for people who have ‘hidden’ disabilities such as autism, ADHD and dyspraxia. People with these conditions are neurodivergent in that they’re different from those […]
REIMAGINING INCLUSIVITY
What are the ‘elephants in the room’ when it comes to truly making inclusivity the default position in an organisation? These were the creatures being discussed at Taylor Vinters’ zebra project event on 6 June, Diversity and inclusion – from tokenism to transformation. The zebra project brings together business leaders and thinkers to ‘reimagine business’ […]
TELLING RETAIL
It’s often said that things come full circle in life. After spending the first 10 years of my career at Procter & Gamble in the 1990s, working with Boots, Asda and the Co-op, I’ve spent much time in more recent years advising law firms to do what savvy retailers do. Here are five lessons I […]
EDITOR’S LETTER
Welcome back to the wonderful world of LPM. Hope you’ve had a lovely summer – it may be nearing the end but we’re kicking off September with a story of growth. What does it take to tighten finances and find the funding and right strategy needed to support growth? Josh Adcock raises the curtain on […]
Lessons in lecturing
Q A member of staff has informally complained about a solicitor who is vegan and who has been ‘lecturing everyone’ about veganism (complainant’s words not ours). What would you advise? A Veganism is potentially protectable under the Equality Act. So it can – though doesn’t automatically – have the same protection as other, more familiar, […]
Stress tests
At home, I recently discovered my young daughter avidly pretending to read through an old copy of Law Firm Remuneration, Reward and Motivation (edited by J Renz). Such a proud moment led me to thinking how things might be for future generations, such as hers, as to the drivers for motivation at work and performance […]
LINKED UP
As solicitors, we find LinkedIn is a fantastic way to remain in professional contact with a whole host of individuals who could be important for our careers. However, from an employment law perspective this connectivity, while a very important benefit, can also cause legal wrangling – for example, when an employee breaches their restrictive covenants […]
FORGET ROBOTS
I recently wrote an article about the impact robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and other IT developments will have on the delivery of legal services. I espoused the need for all firms to embrace the new technology, whether it be a fundamental change to working practices or simpler changes to internal processes. I contended that this […]
CLOUD LANDING
Q Why did the firm decide to design its own IT platform? A Commercial property is among the most document-heavy practice areas in the legal sector – the work has a lot of moving parts. For example, a single transaction can easily generate dozens of lengthy documents as well as layers of title information that […]
TOO OPINIONATED?
Q What’s all this furore over lawyers avoiding wearing brown shoes with blue suits? A There is no furore: there is a social media furore and that is not the same thing. For those of you who may have missed the non-furore, it all started with a report on social media from a conference where […]
