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Rethinking legal services in the face of globalization and technology innovation: the case of radiant law

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Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases

Abstract

In this teaching case, we challenge students to think about and discuss how the legal profession can adapt to disruptive forces caused by the globalization of skills and technology innovation. The case focuses on how one UK-based firm – Radiant Law – completely rethought the delivery of legal services. This ‘new age’ law firm continually tested the boundaries of new ways to leverage the value of global talent and technology. For example, it changed its pricing and sourcing models, adopted new technologies, hired freelance IT professionals globally to develop software to streamline its legal work, engaged outsourcing providers in India and (subsequently) in South Africa. After nearly 3 years in South Africa, Radiant Law contemplated switching its sourcing model again. The Radiant Law story supports discussion about challenges associated with global sourcing decisions and the present and future shape of professional work and services in an increasingly technology-enabled, globalized world.

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Notes

  1. These and other examples can be found in (Friedman, (2007), Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2014), Economist, 2014)

  2. Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) is the outsourcing of processes that requires highly specialized knowledge or expertise, such as medical, product design, animation, medical, and legal processes. From this definition, LPO may be viewed as a subset of KPO.

  3. For an overview of a traditional law firm structure see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_firm.

  4. For more information on RPA, see the Institute of Robotic Process Automation, http://www.irpanetwork.com/.

  5. Our thanks to the JITTC Senior Editor for pointing to the sources at Wikipedia for this information, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/law-firm.

  6. For more on Alex and Jason, see: http://www.radiantlaw.com/our-team/.

  7. ‘Chambers Law firms and individual lawyers are ranked in bands from 1–6, with 1 being the best. The qualities on which rankings are assessed include technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by the client’, from http://www.chambersandpartners.com/the-rankings-explained.

  8. Fixed-fee structures have long been adopted in ITO and BPO contracts, but they are just being adopted in the legal profession.

  9. See http://www.radiantlaw.com/about-us/ for more evidence of their technology use and capability.

  10. For more on legal services technology, see http://outsourcemag.com/how-will-software-transform-the-legal-industry/. For Radiant Law’s specific technology see http://www.radiantlaw.com/about-us/.

  11. Playbooks and other supporting documents help lawyers trained in one country (like South Africa) understand the nuances and legal requirements of serving clients from other countries (like the United Kingdom). Playbooks also standardize service and establish clear lines of responsibility. In information technology outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO), playbooks are often called ‘process maps’ or simply ‘documentation’.

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Correspondence to Mary C Lacity.

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Lacity, M., Willcocks, L. Rethinking legal services in the face of globalization and technology innovation: the case of radiant law. J Info Technol Teach Cases 6, 15–22 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/jittc.2015.17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jittc.2015.17

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