Are Law Firms Ready To Give Up Control To a Non-Attorney?

I recently read an interesting article on the blog the [non]billable hour that references the choice by the Henry Ford Health System to select a non medical professional as the president of one of their system hospitals. The slant is towards the concept being adopted by law firms and the potential benefits. While the concept of placing specific departmental or business leaders in to a role outside of their formal discipline, i.e. an accountant appointed CIO or a marketing professional in finance is not new, the top spot in a law firm has been consistently secured by a lawyer.

The interesting rub with Matt Homann's post is the optimistic hope that a law firm would shun the stodgy paradigm and allow itself to be run at the top of the ranks by a non-attorney. It's an interesting concept. Would the attorney population be able to let go of the idea that someone without a JD can run a law firm?

Personally, I say "why not?" A law firm is primarily a business and most firms would be well suited by the process and policy constraints that bind a corporate enterprise. Why not bring in leadership focused at the customer service level? An operations expert or marketing/PR executive would provide a different outward face for the firm focused on the client without the pressures of having to still bill hours. They would be able to speak the same language as the client and build a culture at a firm that is consistent with the clients they serve.

The main issue would be, would a law firm be able to handle those same processes and policies that a corporation holds so dear? There is no doubt that there are tremendous opportunities for savings and streamlined performance through standardization and procedural controls. Unfortunately, anyone that has worked for a law firm knows how implausible this would be. Imagine telling a senior partner that they cannot have a certain application or widget because it isn't the firm standard or they didn't fill out a form.

I am interested to see if a large firm takes on such a revolutionary concept. It would be a bold exercise to say the least, with a successful firm redefining the industry.

Shaping the Firm of the Future

Cloud computing, server and desktop virtualization, MPLS, VoIP, Online Collaboration—all examples of technology that has been commoditized beyond the point of our need to maintain many production applications on a day to day basis. The question becomes, not “Will IT Survive”, but “Will IT Evolve”. These changes in paradigms will lead IT to prioritize on solutions, not products. As Mr. Koulopoulos states in his article for ILTA's Peer to Peer, the difference between surviving and succeeding depends on the ability of the IT department to be able to evolve to a state of consultancy. What is most important, however, is enabling your team to grow and take on that role.

The Service of Technology

We all know Law Firms bring a different dynamic than the corporate world. Other verticals that experience our unique world are accounting, architectural, medical, etc. We serve the billable hour. Isn’t it time that IT consider it’s time billable to the attorney? Now, I’m not saying we charge our attorneys for our time. I am suggesting, however, that we take the concept of “aligning with the business” to a new level.

Today, most firms stagnate in a reactionary role. How many times a day are you putting out fires or responding to the frantic cries of another “Do you know how much this firm is losing because I can’t work” incident? We find ourselves beleaguered with expectations by our end-users set far higher than realistically capable of providing. Nevertheless, we find ourselves mired in a repetitive process where, next thing we know, we’re six revisions back on a critical application, our infrastructure is latency poor, and we are addressing symptoms, not root causes. It is time to focus on the service of technology and move away from the products of technology. This is where the commodity of technology frees us.

Free from Mediocrity

How do we make this jump? How do we position IT to fill a role that the attorney’s identify as a resource and not a liability? Easily done, just align yourself with the business, right? Well, that’s a start. First, we need free ourselves as suggested by “The Compatibility Curve”. Once your network is up and running, why would you need a CCNP or even a CCIE on staff? And do you really want to allow your folks to tweak and play with the infrastructure as “professional development”? Isn’t this where we get ourselves in trouble? So, outsource the design. Get a contractor for the heavy lifting. Your department is probably understaffed, anyway. Instead of your engineer learning through trial and error, the knowledge exchange with the consultant is real-world and strikes a deeper chord with your staff.

Innovate and Align

So, you streamlined and tossed off the mundane tasks to contractors, now what? Ideally, we partner with the professional staff. This is facilitating innovation that Mr. Koulopoulos mentions. It’s not enough to bring the most current revision of a critical app or the coolest next gadget. We have to be aware of the strategic aims of the firm and how the consumer market will leverage the firm. Yes, I said "consumer market". Get over it, like it or not Skymall is in our lives.

Our technology leaders must gain a seat at the table with the managing partners and executive staff to determine where we can assist. This is the difference between choosing between software or hardware products and identifying a need by the end-user and crafting a solution to complete it. Once IT has the prominence of the other departments from an Operations and Strategy role, we will begin to see the benefits of what Technology has to offer.

When we become intimate with how the attorney practices law, what the stress points are for her, and why she believes her concerns are not being met, we can begin to anticipate those needs. By being proactive and freely collaborative with the professional staff, we ascend beyond the stereotypical "IT Guy" and reach into the future of IT. Technology should be an extension of the attorney's hand in their practice of law, not a hindrance to it.Align

Let's face it. Technology is easy. It has evolved beyond the days of needing a technician to set the clock on a VCR. Technology has grown into services and clouds that require little maintenance or PMI to keep them going. The mystique is gone and the days of Star Trek are upon us, where technology is taken for granted and we are more amazed that something doesn't work instead that it does. Everyday we hear about attorneys that are setting up servers or establishing subscription services for applications and services that would have taken an IT department weeks of planning and integration to roll out. Align

Does all this spell the end of IT? Not at all. This is, however, a Darwinian moment. The weaker species will fall behind either due to hubris or lack of an ability to change. Many (hopefully most) will make that evolutionary leap to bringing the value we have all felt we were and are capable of providing. Our strengths will transcend technology and reach into the business to tie it all together. IT will survive and thrive in this new and exciting time, provided you are prepared to change. -AJC

--This article was first published in ILTA’s June 2011 issue of Peer to Peer titled “Law2020TM: One Year In” and is reprinted here with permission. For more information about ILTA, visit their website at www.iltanet.org.