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When Technology Meets Process

By Debbie Foster and Liz Lamar

Applying technology to an inefficient process will give you a net gain of zero. Throwing technology at a problem without first looking at the process will rarely fix it. In fact, it may exacerbate the problem by adding another layer of complexity to existing process challenges.

A great misconception about technology is that it is a quick fix for everything ' a Band-Aid of sorts. Often, lawyers uncover a problem in their firms and immediately seek to solve it with technology rather than examining their process first. For example, lawyers frequently realize their firms are missing billing opportunities. As a solution, many opt for more sophisticated software only to discover that the cause of the problem is process-related, that there is a break in the process by which staff captures billable time and events. In this case, the most effective solution would have been to refine the process.

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