Does innovation have the wow factor? 'It has to make your work as a lawyer easier'

Innovation in the legal world is exciting. That is the conclusion Tom Overboom can draw after his work as a lawyer at OostNL. “We are a regional development agency with the government as our shareholders. Originally set up around the 1980s to tackle unemployment, but these days we strengthen the economy through innovation,” he explains. The organization works along three pillars. “Investing, innovating and internationalizing. We are above all a network organization that brings parties together, and because we are independent, we are well placed to move between those parties.” With all that experience, he can draw a conclusion: “Innovating carries risks, but it is usually worth it.”

Doing more with less: the role of technology

Even so, he notices that renewal in a technological age provokes resistance. “Unjustified, as far as I am concerned. Although it is understandable. When you start doing something new, you do not know what it is going to deliver.” He then points to his own experience with technological innovation. “When I left private practice after eleven years, I joined a company as in-house counsel. I was on my own and there was a great deal of work to do. That is when I asked myself: ‘How can I make my life as a lawyer easier?’ Get more work done, but keep the quality and preferably raise it. That is when technology comes into play, and we are talking about 1997 here. Far more is possible now.”

While technology is often seen as a threat, this lawyer sees it as an addition. Provided it is implemented well. “I had a lot of knowledge and experience, but how do you put that on display when you are mainly busy with so-called commodity work?” By commodity Overboom means a lawyer's small daily tasks: storing, looking up and reusing information. “I compare it to kindergarten work. We cut parts out of one contract and paste them into another. In between, we search for what we need. That is the kind of work you do in kindergarten. We all know that trick. As a professional you want to focus on technical and creative negotiation instead, rather than small, simple jobs that quietly eat up a lot of time.”

Putting the love of the work first

Spend less time on peripheral matters and you can put the love of the work back at the center. “As a lawyer you shed your dusty image. On top of that, the technology works more precisely. Look, on major matters where specialists are fully focused, things rarely go wrong. The mistakes happen in the standard jobs.” That danger looms above all when more and more is asked of the lawyer. “Society keeps getting more complex, so you keep getting more tasks on your plate. If you can control that in a way that sits outside yourself, it goes faster, more efficiently and better.” Even so, people would prefer to innovate without changing too much themselves. Is that possible?

“Innovating is by definition changing. That is where the challenge lies as well: you will have to convince people,” the expert says. In his view, people are quick to see it as a threat. How much of the work falls away? Will the lawyer become redundant after a while? But he immediately offers a reassuring example: “Colleagues of mine tried to have a contract put together by ChatGPT.” The intelligent, text-generating machine has been commanding a great deal of attention in recent months. Is it capable of replacing people? “It looked decent, but it does not quite work. ASML and Philips have run a similar experiment as well. The conclusion? It still turns out that human input, the knowledge and the expertise, is enormously important. The technology makes the work easier by doing the black-and-white part, but people have to add the color.” So innovation is decisive, but how do you implement it the right way?

Small steps and internal ‘champions’

“First of all, then, you have to get people enthusiastic. Show your colleagues and your management that the innovation in question makes the work more efficient and easier.” Overboom then argues for an internal ‘champion’. “You should not be standing alone. Internally you need someone who commits to it, who wants to convince others. That is how you create a wow factor: 'This really does make my work easier!'" That wow factor comes in two flavors, though. 'Wow, this is good.' Or 'wow, what is happening to me?!'. Innovation overwhelming people is precisely not the intention. It makes the whole thing less accessible.

Alongside that, the lawyer says, the trick is not to ‘change for the sake of changing’. “Look at what the organization needs, then at what is possible, and from there decide which innovation suits the company. After that you do not go straight to full investment; you want to test. Take small steps, run a trial, evaluate. If that goes well and people are enthusiastic, then you can go full throttle. You do not want to find out after committing fully that it does not actually work.”

Innovating in a considered, controlled way and in small steps is how you keep your own compliance and identity intact, according to Overboom. Finally, he emphasizes that innovating does not always mean being first. Take your lead from comparable organizations. “Not everyone is an innovator as such, but everyone has their role in developing this traditionally dusty profession. You also have the early adopters, and then the rest of the majority. Innovation is a social process that everyone contributes to, each at their own pace.”

Curious how your organization can innovate without changing? Get in touch with director Jan-Willem Prakke to talk through the possibilities. We are glad to help.