Cisco Converges in Europe; Tech a Big Factor

In my estimation, Cisco’s law
department is one of the most advanced, both with respect to management
generally and to technology specifically. As the company adopts the
“DuPont convergence model” in Europe, use of technology and processes
will play a big role. 

In Cisco poised for move to DuPont legal model, TheLawyer.com
reports that Cisco will consolidate much of its routine UK legal work
in one firm, following in the footsteps of a similar effort in Italy.
Cisco reportedly wants to pay a single, fixed fee and “other key
criteria are international capability and innovative use of technology
and process engineering to increase efficiency and reduce costs. ”

I
have heard Cisco GC Mark Chandler speak about technology in his law
department and am impressed. I suspect Cisco will be rather demanding
on the tech front. If other big corporate clients take the same
approach, it will inevitably cause law firms to increase the attention
they pay to technology and to best practices. It is
this type of client pressure that will most likely drive future changes
in how law firms think about and use tech. It will be interesting to
see if there are future reports about the outcome here, especially
since the UK firms are, for the most part, ahead of US firms in
thinking about tech and process.  [Strategic Legal Technology]