KOMAL’S TIPS FOR INNOVATION IN THE LEGAL SPACE
Her advice on implementing realistic innovation goals to match a firm’s needs
BY MATHANGI ELANGOVAN
It was the very combination of law and technology that carved out the career for Komal Gupta who is now a board advisor for the Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation and Technology Association (ALITA). Her diverse experience in legal service delivery, training, business development and several other areas helped her carve out her career in the legal tech and innovation space.
Today, she’s the Chief Innovation Officer at Cyril Amarchand. With her experience and expertise in the legal tech space, here are some recommendations Komal shares on how law firms can integrate innovation into their work.
DRIVING A CULTURE OF INNOVATION
Komal advocates for in-house innovation programmes such as the one at CAM known as “Vichaar”, which translates to conception or ideation. This is an annual weeklong programme in which employees from all departments at CAM can share their ideas to solve a particular issue the firm faces.
A simple project yet it yields a profound impact within the firm. Through this, employees can not only identify challenges at the workplace but also explore their creativity by brainstorming ideas that curb these challenges.
Pioneered in 2018, Vichaar has gone through 7 cycles. Over the years even though the number of ideas that employees contribute has reduced, the quality of these ideas has become “concrete and impactful” according to Komal.
She highlights a key creation that came about through Vichaar, known as the Deal Analytics tool. This is an in-house developed app and reflects all transactions and closed deals made by the firm. Along with these, analyses are reflected through pie charts and various other charts.
Another creation birthed through Vichaar is oneCAM, a digital platform that serves as a one-stop portal where administrative tasks can be done easily and knowledge and information can be accessed by employees.
It is imperative to get your team talking about ideas says Komal, who strongly believes that change can start within the organisation before it becomes widespread across the country.
DIFFERENTIATING INNOVATION IN SMALL VS BIG FIRMS
Jumping on the AI bandwagon is not necessary as Komal points at readily available solutions that firms can get hold of. She notes that buying technology is not difficult but rather assessing the technology and getting skilled people to implement it is the bigger challenge.
Smaller firms can research and decide on what is a must-have technology and if they do have an excess budget they can get an advanced technology as a luxury.
From the vendors’ point of view, many vendors target bigger firms and bigger clients and often sideline the smaller firms in Komal’s observation. “They’re trying to build a revenue with a handful of clients but they’re not looking at the bigger picture. They should look at these small firms’ needs and aim to be more inclusive,” she says.
She draws a parallel between technology and newspaper subscriptions, suggesting that for a legal research company aiming for widespread adoption among lawyers, affordability like that of a household newspaper is crucial. Conversely, if exclusivity is the goal, a pricing model similar to premium online newspaper subscriptions should be used. Thus, while encouraging inclusivity among vendors, she also urges both small and large firms to carefully weigh the cost benefits.
UNDERSTANDING INNOVATION VS INVENTION
Innovation is often misunderstood she says. “People often think that innovation means to think of something new, that it is invention. They don’t understand that innovation means making things better, doing something relevant to you.”
She emphasises that some expect legal tech to be able to do everything, including the work that she is able to do. However, legal tech is meant to make work easier in several aspects such as in legal research and drafting documents in her view.
“Legal tech is there to help you. It will make you more productive, more accurate and efficient. But please understand that while technology has great things that it can do it also has its limitations and you have to embrace technology with such limitations.”
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