While many firms are focused on what AI can do for the practice of law, far fewer appear to be considering its potential to transform support and administrative tasks. This is surprising because these tasks are arguably lower-hanging fruit for automation. However, firms that have already experimented with AI know that successful implementation depends on having structured data to drive processes. Today, support work is often scattered across individual inboxes, and even worse, there’s rarely a standardized way of doing things - different offices, practice groups, or even individual partners often have their own preferences. This lack of consistency makes it almost impossible to capture the data needed for intelligent automation.
Firms that have already experimented with AI know that successful implementation depends on having structured data to drive processes.
Over the next 12 months, I expect firms to prioritize introducing standardized best practices for support processes and bringing structure and visibility to delegated admin tasks. That means ensuring all support work is captured in structured workflow systems that, in turn, surface insights on what work is coming in, who’s picking it up, and how long it’s taking.
This foundation will provide the basis on which firms can automate routine tasks, freeing support teams to focus on high-value work that enhances lawyer and client experience and improves profitability. BigHand’s focus this year for our Workflow Management product is to enable this without disrupting lawyers’ preferred ways of working - allowing continued delegation via email while automating triage and surfacing the right data so tasks can be completed (or automated) effectively by support staff, all while retaining the human element to ensure quality.
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