Legatics – the basics

★ What is Legatics?– A transaction management platform

★ What does it do? – It simplifies and automates legal processes

★ How does it do that? – Legatics allows transactions to be managed easily by creating digital versions of process lists. It’s a collaborative platform, meaning all team members can work simultaneously, in real time.

★ Unique Selling Point – It’s built to reflect actual legal working methods

As Daniel Grant Smith, Head of Engagement at Legatics explains on The Wired Wig podcast, the key to creating value for Legatics users is stepping into their shoes and understanding the problems they are actually facing throughout their complex legal transactions. It’s not about imaging how lawyers might want to use the tool and even less about telling them how they should. Rather, it’s about building a tool that reflects actual working methods and imagining features of value. For example, at Legatics the overview screen improves clarity. The ability to manage access levels across the tool guarantees security. The powerful automatic import of pre-existing process management lists cuts back on manual labour and the task assignment feature improves efficiency. Finally, the integrations like DocuSign supports the user through as much of the transaction process as possible.

Want to know more? Daniel explains the tool in more detail in the podcast episode and you can browse the Legatics website here. 

Steps to improve adoption 

“The legal industry has a way to go still before legal technology is adopted at scale and seen as business as usual”

As Head of Engagement, Daniel knows a thing or two about getting the most value of the tool for his clients. Here are some of Daniel’s steps to improve adoption of the obviously useful technology by more hesitant lawyers: 

  • Focus on actual pain points and use cases – Listen to your lawyers. Understand what it is they want from technology, rather than just throwing tech at them and expecting them to use it without their being a use case.
  • Address friction points – Lawyers are notoriously busy and often don’t believe they have the time to learn how to use yet another tool, no matter how much it will help them save time down the line. They might have unfounded preconceptions about the tool or simply not have enough access and training for it. Support from a dedicated person within the team can help address that. 
  • Highlight your champions! – Recognize them, ask about and share their success stories.
  • Measure – Getting a lot of “I’ll believe it when I see it?” Make sure to collect feedback from users and measure efficiency gains regularly to demonstrate evidence of the tool’s value. 

What about engaging future lawyers? 

Daniel strongly believes that the teaching of law needs to mix with technology and a recognition that the future practice of the law is going to include technology.

“This will allow us to produce lawyers who are more holistically blended and able to look at both the practice but also the technological element.”

Importantly, the integration of teaching about LegalTech should also extend to best practice for using more “basic” technology like Word, Excel and Outlook. University students know how to use Word to write essays but not as a way to track tables etc. 

As for current students interested in Law and Technology and entering the profession soon, Daniel recommends talking to as many people as possible because you never know where your connections will lead you. Take advantage of the great resources to learn about the industry and to develop your own ideas and perspectives on it. Don’t finally, don’t be afraid to fail or to look stupid – that’s how you learn! 

Interested in finding out more about Daniel and his journey from an M&A lawyer at Hogan Lovells to working at a growing startup? Listen to his podcast episode now!