Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
TRUST THE PROCESS? - In our Law.com Trendspotter column earlier this week, we noted that it’s likely only a matter of time before some law firms go too far in their quest to cure staffing inefficiencies, either by underestimating the value of their human administrative staffs or overestimating their lawyers’ willingness to embrace technology and take on more nonbillable tasks. Seems like that may happen sooner rather than later. As Rhys Dipshan writes in this week’s Law.com Barometer newsletter, law firms and legal departments’ pandemic-fueled zeal for automating more of their workflows and processes will likely only intensify in the coming months and years. In many ways, that’s not only necessary but long overdue. As Dipshan notes, the pandemic afforded law firm and in-house leaders with a much-needed, albeit unexpected, opportunity to rethink the way they and their colleagues traditionally worked. But, Dipshan also writes, automation’s effect on the job market “won’t be negligible—and can’t be ignored”: “Some tasks are just too complex, and some technology is just not mature enough to handle certain workflows. But the trajectory is already set. And the change automation brings will likely come faster, with a more immediate impact, than many have expected.” To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.
