Yesterday morning, ILTA kicked off for 2013 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Despite having to leave my one-year-old son back in North Carolina, waiting an hour in baggage claim and even longer in hotel check-in, I’m pleased to say this conference is off to a great start. The energy and brainpower by this crowd is impressive. Sharing the same passion for innovation, technology and the legal industry, Eric and I are encouraged by the learning and networking opportunities.

The first session we attended was keynote speaker, Scott Klososky, and the topic of Technology, Trends and Catalytic Impacts on Law Firms. In short, the technological trends in the legal industry are growing at a much more rapid pace than the adoption of firms, leaving a considerable opportunity for law firms to advance in ways that have never been seen before. Adopting technologies and focusing on dedicated efforts to grow your firm is more relevant than ever, given the game-changing landscape in the legal industry.

If you take a look at the publishing industry and graph below, provided by FPOV, it is no surprise that with Amazon releasing the first ebook in 2007 (the Kindle) and Barnes and Noble releasing their version in 2009 (The Nook), earlier adoption of technology correlated with greater sales. That’s a two year lag that translated into almost FOUR BILLION DOLLARS in sales. And for Borders, well, you see how that ended. Scary, right? Of course, “doing it right” is just as important as doing it at all, but the point is, you don’t have time to avoid emerging technologies in your industry if you care about the vitality of your business.  

Originally spoken by Jim Barksdale from Netscape, Klososky reminded us all of his famous words, “If we have data, let’s look at the data. If we only have opinions, let’s go with mine.” Often times, business leaders take on the mentality “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” This mentality works really well with television remotes and even cars, not your firm. Applying antiquated methodologies and processes may be keeping you afloat now, but won’t allow you to thrive in the future. Using the data in front of you to make informed, educated decisions on how to manage and operate your firm is crucial. Barksdale approach to data goes hand-in-hand with the principles of Management By Fact and Six Sigma. It’s nearly impossible to make data-driven, informed and educated decisions without touching technology. Klososky demonstrates this well:

Ask yourself:

• Am I doing it this way because I’ve always done it this way?
• Am I doing it this way because I’ve already invested so much?

If so, your time is now.

What approaches have you kicked to the curb to allow for more success?