Helping law firms use data more effectively

On January 29 at the London offices of international law firm DWF, around 70 of the UK’s leading law firms came together for a Briefing Frontiers event entitled: Data and analytics – leveraging data to drive efficiency, service and performance.

Whilst Quiss has been supporting a large number of law firm clients for decades, Circyl is a relatively new name in the legal sector, which made this the ideal opportunity to get our message across to a select audience of open-minded, forward-thinking decision makers.

Given the focus of the event was how law firms need to switch their thinking from being providers of legal services to data-led businesses of the future, the involvement of Circyl and Quiss as joint sponsors was guaranteed.

Within reach to all

The importance accorded this subject was evident, given the law firms represented at the event were mostly from the upper reaches of the UK top 100 law firms – always keen to understand how they can achieve a slight edge over their competitors.

The first panel discussion addressed the future of law firms as data-led businesses and how they need to revolutionise their growth strategies through the effective use of IT teams, data scientists, technologists and business professionals.

With an audience prepared to get involved and share the challenges faced by their law firm, a rare insight peculiar to the sector in our experience, the conclusion reached was that data analytics captures information that helps analyse the whole firm, not just a single aspect like finance or billing.

This wasn’t an event with sponsors stuck in a side room, waiting for the discussions to finish, but allowed our people to mix amongst the audience and get involved in the seminars. This was critical, as it offers a unique perspective into the thinking on data analytics in these mid-market firms.

A business development manager’s view

Circyl Business Development Manager, Andy Smith commented: “We attended the Briefing Frontiers event to give us the opportunity of discussing how law firms are planning to gain better insight into their data to ensure they remain competitive and relevant in the modern commercial world.

“The event featured many senior decision makers and the general view was that it is imperative that they understand and utilise their data in the most effective way to support informed decision making. This approach will support their drive to be as relevant to their clients as they can be.

“The ability for firms to add value to their relationships with their clients is a business imperative and smarter use of data will be key to making that happen. And at Circyl, we have the solutions that will make the transition painless and cost-effective – a message we were happy to get across.”

Network to send a message

This was a highly professional event, well-organised and thought-provoking. It is guaranteed to drive further debate in private, about how far law firms have yet to travel on this journey from nice-to-know information to actionable insights that drive efficiency and profitability.

As a sponsor we were able to get involved in the networking over coffee and the post-event reflection session, which allowed us to explain Circyl’s unique approach.

What was once the preserve of only the largest law firms, data capture and analytics tools available with Microsoft Office 365, like Dynamics, SharePoint and Power BI now allow smaller firms to undertake small projects, quickly and cost-effectively, which can then be scaled up across the firm.

These events and the conversations we have about data governance and using it all better, is set to ensure Circyl and Quiss enjoy a busy 2019, adding even more law firms to our ever-growing roster.