Rethinking Innovation in a Law Firm Culture: Avoid Failure and Increase Adoption by Approaching a Business Problem Like a Business

Innovation efforts tend to fail in hierarchical law firm cultures when the solution is developed without the participation and buy-in of key stakeholders. Innovation can also fail when the decision to purchase a new tool precedes the definition of the underlying business problem, forcing any solution to conform to the capabilities of the new technology. Successful innovation requires stakeholder participation, a robust diagnostic process, and an emphasis on adoption rather than speed of delivery. In this session, Tim Corcoran will demonstrate how poor innovation processes have doomed many law firm initiatives, citing examples as varied as CRM, workflow allocation, cross-selling, alternative pricing, client listening programs, and content marketing. He'll also share how corporations rely on an enterprise approach when solving enterprise challenges, how they prioritize their innovation efforts, and how they measure success over the short- and long-term.

Attendees will learn:

• How to identify and overcome the root causes of failed innovation projects

• What a robust diagnostic process looks like and how to conduct one

• How to select the right KPIs for the project

• The factors used by corporate leaders to prioritize, select, and monitor the progress of innovation initiatives

Tim Corcoran is a former CEO who now advises law firm and law department leaders on the profitable disruption of outdated business models. Tim is a Trustee and Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, a Teaching Fellow at the Australian College of Law, an American Lawyer Fellow, and past president and member of the Hall of Fame of the Legal Marketing Association.