At the end of June 2016, I was invited to attend a ‘Legal Trailblazers’ Seminar. The title intrigued me but as soon as I saw who was speaking, it was a must-attend event for me.
With the likes of Joy Kingsley, Ed Fletcher, Richard Hodkinson and Paul Hinchcliffe (if you don’t know who they are, Google them) it was bound to offer up some insights and perspectives.
The hosts were Converge IT, a company specialising in IT solutions for the legal sector so obviously, the angle was technology related. While many topics were raised and discussed, one that came around a few times was the balance between technology and people.
Technology was talked about when it came to AI; being used as an enabler; investment for the future; automation; leverage but there was always a distinct feeling that people still played a vital role in each of the speaker’s firms.
I’ve always said that my business would be nothing without the people in it. Technology will struggle to replace that face to face contact; that emotion and understanding; that personal touch – but of course technology can be used to help our people do more with less effort.
And surely that is the point. Technology has its role to play for sure but so do the people using it. Let me demonstrate stepping away from the legal sector for a moment.
Tesla DashboardIn May 2016, the first death resulted from an automated vehicle – a Tesla in the state of Florida. The driver relied on the fully automated driving and was clearly distracted as the car thought the central line was something else and veered onto the wrong side of the road into an oncoming vehicle.
A tragedy of course but this is a good example, albeit extreme, of the technology is only as good as the people using it.
Back to the legal sector. There are all sorts of technology solutions out there that enable firms to do more with less and help their people be more efficient and profitable. But the same point applies…that technology is only as good as the people operating it.
I’m all for serious investment into innovative tech but I’m also very serious about the investment into my people within my law firm – and not just the usual CPD. If you are wondering what I mean, ask me next time you see me or get in touch.