Digital transformation needs to be supported by a culture of innovation. When asked how law firms were fostering this culture, for Virginia Clegg, Senior Partner at DAC Beachcroft, it meant starting with the firm’s cultural principles in order to enable an environment conducive to innovation. At DAC Beachcroft, becoming an innovative law firm starts with being:

• supportive
• creative
• clear
• determined

An Innovative Law Firm Values Collaboration

Perhaps most importantly, innovation is not just a top-down exercise at DAC Beachcroft. Virginia described their multidisciplinary innovation lab. “People come together with business services colleagues, and often with clients, to develop innovative products,” she said. One recent example is a litigation executive bringing forward an SMS product: “95% of people will read a text within three minutes and respond within 90 seconds. So, we delivered a quicker turnaround time for insurance clients.”

Her firm has also launched a business improvement and change team. “It’s mainly populated by specialist project managers who corral supporters and make the investment case for innovation, and innovative products that we have,” she said, pointing out the need for a team of delivery people since ‘ideas’ people might not be good at building the business case.

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