March 22, 2022
For whatever reason, the legal industry is notoriously resistant to change. Whether it's due to the barriers of the profession or because lawyers are simply traditionalists, they often won't easily agree to things like adopting new technology, even if it would make their lives easier. As a legal tech company, Upstock often sees this firsthand. That's why we're offering these tips that you can use to get your legal team to see your point of view.
Companies should always look into the adoption of systems, methods or technologies that could make their processes efficient and effective. For example, if you are an HR professional in a large company or corporation, you would want something that could ease the process of managing and reviewing employment contracts and streamline other labor compliance matters. Because the bigger the company is, the messier these things get.
The goal of legal technology, precisely, is to address these issues to make the life of everyone who works in these areas easier. But as mentioned before, there might be some pushback from those who may believe that implementing new systems or technologies are not in their best interest. Some might also find it unnecessary or too complicated to learn a new way of doing things.
As a company operating around the legal tech space, Upstock is aware that addressing these concerns by effectively communicating and advocating for technological adoption is important.
Here’s how we do it.
If you have an in-house legal department, a lot of their time is usually devoted to administrative matters that are better spent on resolving more complex and technical legal issues. Thus, corporate lawyers are often supportive of anything that allows them to save time as it makes their jobs less challenging.
At Upstock, we emphasize to in-house legal professionals the following benefits and advantages of our worker-focused equity management system:
So if you are looking to pitch the use of a great equity management system like Upstock, you can easily gain the support of your in-house counsel by emphasizing the number of ways it can make their life easier as we have shown above.
In-house lawyers are generally more receptive to legal tech as it almost always tends to benefit them by allowing them to save more time. In contrast, external lawyers and law firms who charge based on time stand to lose a significant amount of billable hours and income since the faster the work can be done, the lesser the hours that can be billed. As such, if you work with an external counsel, there may be some pushback against legal tech that could potentially take away work referrals from them.
This is a fundamental problem in the billing practice some lawyers and law firms have more recently been creatively solving (and which is obviously beyond the scope of this article). However, more and more great firms are embracing change and warming up to the idea of utilizing legal tech because it means doing what is in the best interest of their clients. A company that thrives will produce more billable work across the spectrum. At Upstock, we emphasize the following opportunities and benefits for external counsels:
It is normal for your external lawyers to voice out their concerns and skepticism of any legal tech app that you would be pushing for. But if you are able to communicate the factors we have highlighted above, it should become easier for them to understand that it could benefit both of you.
It’s understandable that not everyone will be warm to the idea of changing their habits from how they were done before. This is especially true in the legal sector which is sometimes known for its fixed habits. But recently, this market and industry has truly started to show itself being more and more open to technological innovation.
At Upstock, we are witnessing this field of equity management as an area in legal tech that continues to embrace technological developments, owing to the massive advantages and benefits they bring to the table for both companies and legal professionals alike.
If you need more inputs on how you could talk to your lawyer regarding legal tech like Upstock—or if you are a lawyer who wants to know more about how Upstock could make your work easier, or if you simply want to discuss possible opportunities for partnership or collaboration—we’d be happy to talk!
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