Inside and outside counsel turn to big data analytics
Karen Anzuni, CIO at Benesch Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, writes in today’s Law Technology News of how Big Data technologies and analytics are helping law firms innovate and compete.
A few weeks ago, the always-incisive Ron Friedmann posted an outline of his ‘Do Less Law” presentation. The presentation echoed a topic Friedmann wrote about a few months earlier: namely, how new tools–Big Data, legal analytics, contract intelligence, etc.–might make legal service providers more efficient and legal service consumers more proactive in their decision-making so that fewer traditional legal services would be needed.
[Incidentally, if you don't know his work. Ron Friedmann knows more about making law practice efficient than just about anyone on the planet. Seriously. Read his stuff.]
Because this Big-Data-Analytics-makes-lawyers-better is a topic we at Brightleaf deal in every day, we were very glad to see two acknowledged experts write about it in succession.
Anzuni believes that “Big Data technologies and analytics are changing how law firms innovate and compete in big ways. Smart firms are employing analytics to recognize leading indicators and make data-informed decisions.” Friedmann says that better information delivered to corporate legal departments in a more timely fashion will reduce litigation. Anzuni says data-mining invoices helps firms parse ”the profitability of alternative fee arrangements, identify the characteristics of successful matters, and recognize risk. And she goes on to detail several areas where she believes these analytics have particular value to firms:
These areas are:
- Pricing & Staffing
- Client & Industry Intelligence
- Client Service
- Client relationship management
- Talent analytics
Cool stuff, Karen & Ron. We look forward to hearing more.