ATL's Innovation Interrogatory: Jeroen Plink Of Clifford Chance Applied Solutions
"Very few other companies in the knowledge industry still operate in the same way as they did 100 years ago, and legal should not be the exception."
Ed. note: This is the first installment of The Innovation Interrogatories series, brought to you by Lake Whillans Capital Partners. This recurring feature will highlight insights and experiences around ongoing innovation efforts at law firms.
What is driving law firms to create set up initiatives such as Clifford Chance Applied Solutions?
The legal industry is changing. It’s a statement that has been made frequently during the 25 years that I have been in the industry, but this time it is actually happening. For Clifford Chance, it was clear many years ago (in fact when I was at Clifford Chance in the late 90’s as an associate the firm was already ahead) that in order to stay ahead of the market, the way legal services are provided must evolve. With that in mind, the firm started early down the path of innovation.
Very few other companies in the knowledge industry still operate in the same way as they did 100 years ago, and legal should not be the exception.
In addition, I see many external drivers for change. The main three are:
- Client demand. Clients expect the same level of service that they receive from their other service providers. Every client I talk to requires law firms (a) to be more technically savvy, (b) to understand their business beyond the legalities (it is the commercial rationale of a legal matter that is important, not the legal matter itself) and (c) to be more transparent and commercial about fees and fee structures;
- Competitive pressure. The big four have re-entered the legal arena and they provide real competition. It may only take a few years before they encroach on big law territory in earnest. Likewise, a new form of competition has arisen in the form of law companies, who are more than equipped to conduct work that would have traditionally fallen to law firms. For some work types that may be fine, but as soon as such companies increase their capacity for high value work, they will become real competitors;
- Technology. Real-world innovations have already had a positive impact on the practice of law, for example, document review by tools like Kira and AI powered research by tools like Casetext. Such innovation enables the provision of legal services in ways that are faster, better and cheaper.
Firms need to respond to these internal and external factors and creating the CINO role is one way of doing that.
What objectives you are trying to meet? What is the biggest problem you are trying to solve?
At Clifford Chance, the most important thing we are trying to achieve is to help our clients solve their business issues. We do this in two complementary ways: 1) by developing applications that solve their problems and help them to be more efficient and 2) by continuously improving how we deliver legal services. The first is achieved by Clifford Chance Applied Solutions (CCAS) and the second through our Best Delivery initiative. CCAS, among other products, offers a platform that automates documents for our clients in a way that is tailor-made for their needs. CCAS is also launching a series of intuitive digital products to offer solutions to its clients, including a tool for managing continuing obligations for issuers of public debt, a multi-jurisdictional legal resource tool and others. Best Delivery creates a more efficient delivery model through the use of software, legal project management and service centers in Newcastle and Delhi.
Can you identify an under-hyped (or at least relatively overlooked) technology or trend that will eventually have a significant impact on the delivery of legal services?
I think one of the factors that is not spoken about enough, but which has a significant and underestimated impact on the legal services industry, is the lawyer/non-lawyer divide. Clifford Chance is doing better on this front than most firms (I would not have re-joined if it wasn’t) but also has some way to go. The fact that, in most firms, to varying degrees, people who are not lawyers are treated as second class citizens has a profoundly negative effect on the industry.
As long as people without a law degree but with the skills, expertise, and commerciality critical to the success of a law firm aren’t taken seriously or don’t play a real role in management, law firms expose themselves to competitors that take subjects such as marketing and sales, technology and strategy as seriously as they should. It is crucial to empower these professionals in the areas in which they excel. The first competitor that, in addition to providing top quality legal advice, operates more like a real business with an appreciation that not all matters can be decided on by people with a law degree, will be a true winner.
Innovation and technology are often conflated. To what degree does the “innovation” imperative at law firms extend beyond technological solutions?
Innovation in my opinion is so much more than technology. True innovation is doing something novel that has a superior outcome compared to the “old way of doing things.” Amongst many other things, I consider areas such as legal project management, different business models (such as selling legal products instead of legal services), pricing techniques, data analysis in order to perfect the practice of law, different marketing techniques, and off-shore service centers to be true examples of innovation beyond technology. A good example of an innovative approach is Clifford Chance’s trial in the Middle East where, in performance reviews of lawyers, utilization is replaced by contribution to, amongst others, innovation, best delivery, and the firm’s diversity and inclusion programs.
Is litigation finance an innovation that you’ve considered? If no, why not? If yes, in what ways do you think it will help meet your innovation goals?
Litigation finance is an important part of the disputes landscape. It has been around for some time, but the funds available for investment are growing, the industry is expanding into new jurisdictions (e.g. parts of Continental Europe and APAC), and ever more innovative investment models are being used (e.g. portfolio funding, law firm funding, defence funding etc.). The level of funds available and number of players mean that funders are starting to invest in more speculative assets, which will likely lead to claims being commenced that would not previously have seen the light of day. This will likely drive overall growth in the disputes market.
Although our client base does not tend to seek funding frequently, we follow the market closely, speak with the funders often, advise clients on the implications of dealing with funded opponents, regularly advise our clients about the availability of litigation funding and, in appropriate cases, help them to find funding and manage funders.
We do not regard it as one of our innovation goals; it is simply part of the litigation ecosystem that we follow and absorb into the advice that we provide to clients.
Jeroen is the CEO of Clifford Chance Applied Solutions. He began his career in Clifford Chances Amsterdam office as a private equity associate. Upon leaving Clifford Chance in 2000, he co-founded a company that developed software for conducting due diligence. He sold this company in 2002 to Practical Law Company. Practical Law Company was an online legal publisher (now owned by Westlaw). For Practical Law Company England, amongst others, he was involved in developing its document automation product and other digital products.
In 2007, he moved to the United States to set up Practical Law Company US. Within five years, he successfully grew this business from two employees in 2007 to 250 employees in 2013 and selling its products to thousands of in-house departments and hundreds of law firms including 80% of the AmLaw 200. In 2013, Practical Law Company was acquired by Thomson Reuters (Westlaw). After the sale of Practical Law, Jeroen, in capacities varying from advisor, board member and investor became involved with numerous legal tech startups, including Kira, Casetext, Compliance.ai, CoInspect, Allegory Law (now part of Integreon) and many others. In 2018, Jeroen re-joined CCLLP to set up Clifford Chance Applied Solutions.
