Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions Podcast Offers Tips for Avoiding Legal Technology Roadmap Potholes

Rhea-AI Summary

Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions highlights the increasing necessity for corporate legal departments to adopt technology strategies amid hiring freezes and rising counsel costs. In the latest episode of the Legal Leaders Exchange Podcast, experts emphasize the importance of a coherent technology adoption plan to improve efficiency and stakeholder relationships. They caution against rapid onboarding without needs assessment, advocating instead for a measured approach to refine adoption strategies. Failure to engage stakeholders can result in wasted investments, while a strong roadmap can enhance collaboration with outside counsel.

Positive

• Experts emphasize the importance of a coherent technology adoption plan improving operational efficiency.
• A measured approach to technology onboarding can yield long-term benefits.
• Well-developed technology roadmaps can enhance relationships with outside counsel.

Negative

• Many in-house teams lack a technology adoption strategy, impacting success rates.
• Impatience from leadership may lead to rushed technology onboarding without proper needs assessment.
• Failure to engage stakeholders in the adoption process can result in expensive solutions being rejected.

Latest episode examines how a strong technology adoption strategy protects stakeholder relationships

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corporate law departments stymied by in-house hiring freezes and the rising cost of outside counsel are onboarding technology to help shoulder increasingly heavy workloads. But, according to a new installment of Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions’ Legal Leaders Exchange Podcast, many in-house teams still don’t have a technology adoption strategy in place, dampening success rates and straining relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

The episode features ELM Solutions expert Jeffrey Solomon, Senior Director Product Management, who is joined by colleague Nathan Cemenska, ELM Solutions’ Director of Legal Operations and Industry Insights. The experts discuss some of the common challenges that legal departments face when trying to devise an inclusive, far-reaching and ultimately coherent plan for technology procurement – otherwise known as a technology roadmap.

Chief among those obstacles is impatience from leadership teams eager to begin leveraging new, technology-driven efficiencies. While some legal departments may be tempted to begin rapidly onboarding technology without properly assessing either their own needs or an ever-broadening market of solution providers, Solomon believes that a slower approach can yield more gains and fewer mistakes long-term. “It allows legal departments the flexibility to develop a more iterative approach to innovation, where adoption strategies can be continually refined based on feedback from internal stakeholders and trusted vendor partners,” he says.

Even with a strong technology roadmap in place, change management is often the toll that corporate legal departments must pay for innovation. Solomon adds that failure to engage key stakeholders in the technology adoption process can lead to expensive solutions being quickly rejected by employees or even law firm partners.

Instead, a well-developed technology roadmap allots the time required to properly train outside counsel on how to engage with new solutions or workflows. “This not only expedites the time to value of already powerful tools such as matter management solutions, but also preserves and strengthens relationships with outside counsel for years to come,” Solomon notes.

Legal Leaders Exchange was created to deliver insights on optimizing legal operations for corporate legal and insurance claims professionals. Listeners can subscribe to Legal Leaders Exchange episodes from the leading podcast platforms, including Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Amazon / Audible.com and iHeart Radio. The podcast show is the latest in a series of thought leadership media including blogs, webinars and other platforms leveraging information from ELM Solutions’ LegalVIEW^® Data Warehouse – the most comprehensive legal spend database in the world with more than $150 billion in invoices.

ELM Solutions, part of Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) division, is the market-leading global provider of enterprise legal spend and matter management, contract lifecycle management and legal analytics solutions. The company provides a comprehensive suite of tools that address the growing needs of corporate legal operations departments to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. Corporate legal and insurance claims departments trust its innovative technology and end-to-end customer experience to drive world-class business outcomes. The other legal solutions business of Wolters Kluwer GRC is CT Corporation.

Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions was named a leader in both the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Enterprise Legal Spend Management 2020 Vendor Assessment and IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Enterprise Matter Management 2020 Vendor Assessment. The company’s award-winning products include Passport^®, one of the highest rated ELM solutions in the latest Hyperion MarketView™ Legal Market Intelligence Report and TyMetrix^® 360°, the industry’s leading SaaS-based e-billing and matter management solution. CLM Matrix, meanwhile, was named a “strong performer” in The Forrester Wave™: Contract Lifecycle Management For All Contracts, Q1 2021 report. ELM Solutions’ LegalVIEW^® portfolio of legal analytics solutions is based upon the industry’s largest and most comprehensive legal spend database, with more than $150 billion in invoices.

About Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk & Compliance

Governance, Risk & Compliance is a division of Wolters Kluwer, which provides legal and banking professionals with solutions to help ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory and legal obligations, manage risk, increase efficiency, and produce better business outcomes. GRC offers a portfolio of technology-enabled expert services and solutions focused on legal entity compliance, legal operations management, banking product compliance, and banking regulatory compliance.

Wolters Kluwer (AEX: WKL) is a global leader in information services and solutions for professionals in the health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. Wolters Kluwer reported 2020 annual revenues of €4.6 billion. The company, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries and employs 19,200 people worldwide.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220119005291/en/

Media Contacts for Wolters Kluwer GRC

(Including Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions, Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation, Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions and Wolters Kluwer Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting)

Paul Lyon

Global Corporate Communications Director

Governance, Risk & Compliance Division

Wolters Kluwer

Office +44 20 3197 6586

Paul.Lyon@wolterskluwer.com

Frank Ready

Senior Specialist, Corporate Communications, Legal Services

Governance, Risk & Compliance Division

Wolters Kluwer

717-205-3647

Frank.Ready@wolterskluwer.com

Source: Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk & Compliance

FAQ

What challenges do legal departments face regarding technology adoption?

Legal departments struggle with a lack of coherent technology adoption strategies, leading to strained stakeholder relationships and inefficiencies.

When was the latest episode of the Legal Leaders Exchange Podcast released?

The latest episode was highlighted in a press release dated January 19, 2022.

What is the impact of rapid technology onboarding in legal departments?

Rapid onboarding without proper assessment can lead to mistakes and wasted resources, stressing the need for a measured approach.

How can a technology roadmap benefit corporate legal departments?

A well-developed technology roadmap enhances efficiency and strengthens relationships with outside counsel by allowing for proper training and implementation.

What is the financial implication of adopting technology in legal operations?

Adopting technology can reduce costs in legal operations and improve overall business outcomes.