The Challenge of Change: Managing a “What Can go Wrong?” Mindset

Change is a challenge for most of us. It is hard to step out of our comfort zone, even when we recognise that change is necessary. We prefer the familiar, we’re averse to risk, and there’s often a sense of “if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it”. This can lead to a lack of willingness to adopt new approaches.

When it comes to lawyers, discomfort with the uncertainty and disruption of change appears particularly acute. Leading psychologist Dr Larry Richard’s study of key characteristics of members of the legal profession found that lawyers are thirty to forty percent more sceptical than the general public. They also have a high level of autonomy (89% vs 50%), equating to independence, a dislike of being told what to do, and a mindset that tends to ask, “What can go wrong?”, and “Is there a reason that this won’t work?” These are all essential personality traits for lawyers, who use their highly developed critical faculties to identify risk on behalf of clients, defend their arguments robustly, and minimise the risk of failure. However, it means that when change is needed, they can be extremely reluctant to embrace new approaches.

In the current environment, where Accenture estimates there has been a 183% increase in the rate of change in businesses over the past four years, this equates to a lot of potentially uncomfortable lawyers. Nevertheless, change – particularly technological change – is essential if law firms are to stay competitive and relevant in a landscape where client expectations of efficiency and productivity are continually increasing.

At CedarIP, our management team has more than 25 years of experience helping law firms and in-house teams manage technology change. Here are our tips for keeping the change zone comfortable in terms of people, processes, and technology:

People: leadership, sponsorship, engagement, and communication

During technology change, strong leadership is critical. Technology projects must have a designated leader, responsible for:

Defining the vision and required outcomes for the project
Building a robust, risk-managed business case,
Liaising with the board to achieve executive-level sponsorship
Identifying key stakeholders at all levels within the business to understand their concerns and priorities
Leading the change management process and acting as a conduit for communication
Working with external vendors and internal stakeholders to identify training needs and long-term support requirements

Key to this role is stakeholder engagement. The project leader is a central point of contact for the board, lawyers, paralegals, business development teams, finance, and the chosen software provider.

A strong communication and feedback programme is essential so that all stakeholders understand the project’s drivers and benefits and are comfortable that the risk of change has been fully assessed. This answers the concerns of the “What can go wrong?” mindset which – if not answered – can fuel scepticism that threatens the project’s success.

Process: From evaluation to implementation

Once you have identified the change you need to make to your technology strategy, you must start the process of selecting and evaluating suitable vendors, then devising a rollout plan. Key stages include:

Evaluation: Vendors should offer an in-depth trial of their solution – using real data if possible (subject to necessary NDA and security requirements). Representatives from every stakeholder group – including lawyers, paralegals, administrators, and operations – should have the opportunity to trial the solution with support from the vendor. Speaking of support – its quality and availability should be as much a part of the selection process as the features of the software itself.
Feedback: Stakeholders should be provided with formal and informal feedback routes and clear timelines for providing feedback. This will identify common concerns so they can be addressed or escalated to red flags if they can’t be resolved. This is also a good opportunity to see how vendors handle concerns and challenges.
Due Diligence: This is essential in the dynamic technology provider market. Potential vendors must be subjected to verification of their stability and resilience across the full spectrum of finance, operations and – crucially – cybersecurity and data protection. Third-party cyber risk is a critical consideration in today’s cyber threat landscape, and law firms must ensure technology providers have adequate certifications, processes, and governance in place to minimise risk.
Planning: In partnership with the chosen vendor, devise a schedule for implementation. The vendor’s experience should enable them to advise on the time needed to implement a successful programme, but it’s prudent to build in contingency across the testing and rollout phase. Missed deadlines can cause stakeholders that are already prone to scepticism to lose faith in a project, so it is better to allow more time and get it right than to rush and be derailed by unforeseen hurdles.
Implementation: Once the software goes live, the crucial phase for adoption begins. However intuitive the solution, users will need support to unlock its new features; otherwise, they may try to retrofit old workflows into the new system and miss out on the benefits of the change. Vendor support is critical here, users need training sessions that fit into busy work schedules, but they also need to be able to get in-the-moment help when they need it. Among a cohort that is uncomfortable with perceived failure, rectifying issues promptly is imperative.

Technology: Usability, security, integration, and the future

Ironically, the “technology” aspect of change is arguably easier to manage than the people and process phases. Vendors will be eager to provide comprehensive information about the features and capabilities of their solutions and should be highly responsive throughout the selection and implementation process. Nevertheless, considerations to smooth the change pathway include:

User experience and familiarity: Tempting though it may be to select a radically different, AI-powered, voice-controlled software solution, bear in mind that users need to be able to get up to speed quickly. An intuitive user experience with familiar workflows and processes is easier to adopt than something completely new.
Security: Verifying the vendor’s security competence is part of the due diligence process, but it is also an ongoing issue. Make sure your security strategy incorporates the new solution and that you have robust breach detection and response processes in place in partnership with the provider, to spot and manage any issues as soon as they happen.
Integration: Make sure your chosen solution integrates well with your existing technology stack and doesn’t add complexity to effective existing workflows. Ask about the potential for integration with new technologies and third-party solutions.
Roadmap: More than ever, technology suppliers should be viewed as partners in business strategy. By understanding the product’s future roadmap, firms can anticipate how their practice will develop and become more efficient over time.

In a landscape that is currently defined by rapid change, helping stakeholders become more comfortable with it will become increasingly important. In the legal environment, understanding that stakeholders are risk-averse and that “what can go wrong?” is often the question at the top of mind can help project leaders design programmes that reassure, support, and persuade often sceptical individuals to get on board.

The Challenge of Change: Managing a “What Can go Wrong?” Mindset

People: leadership, sponsorship, engagement, and communication

Process: From evaluation to implementation

Technology: Usability, security, integration, and the future

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