EY partner and UK law leader for financial services Matthew Kellett talks about innovation, the future of legal services and technology myths, ahead of his session at The Lawyer’s In-house Counsel as Business Partner.
What does it mean to be innovative when it comes to legal services?
Genuine innovation (the iPhone moment) is rare, and automation is often confused with real innovation. For something to be genuinely innovative it needs to break the mould – I can’t think of many things in the legal world that do that.
What is your one big prediction on the future of legal services?
It’s getting a bit of a cliché, but the professions will radically change in the next decade or so. The legal profession will be as affected as any. Access to information and the cost of law to most users will drive fundamental change.
Technology myths and truths – what holds legal departments back from exploring new technologies?
It’s not a lack of vision or the desire to drive change. I suspect it’s more to do with budgets, headcount restrictions and the sheer weight of issues in-house counsel has to deal with everyday.
Tell us two truths and one lie about yourself (in any order)
- I’m a qualified Sommelier
- Before becoming a lawyer I trained at Sotheby’s specialising in 18th century furniture
- I have recently completed the Marathon de Sable.
If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done instead?
Something creative – maybe an artist or writer
I’m afraid I have to disagree with Matthew that there’s little to break the legal mould. Consultant-led firms have turned what it is to be a lawyer on its head. The common perception of a legal professional is one chained to a desk, overworked and under-rewarded, on the treadmill to reach partner where only more stress awaits. But consultant-led firms offer a much more rewarding alternative, where lawyers have control over where they work, when they work and for whom they work. Technology and innovative structuring of support services enables them to deliver legal services in a more dynamic and cost-effective way. Relentless targets are replaced with the opportunity to decide their own workload and their own direction. If this isn’t innovation then I don’t know what is.