Digitally transforming our law firms: inspiration for small to medium sized firms
Thursday 1 December 2022
Panel at the IBA Annual Conference Miami 2022
Zoya Todorova
Dimitrov, Petrov & Co, Bulgaria; Regional Fora Liaison Officer, European Regional Forum
zoya.todorova@dpc.bg
Takeaways by session chair Zoya Todorova, Regional Fora Liaison Officer, European Regional Forum
The IBA European Regional Forum (supported by IBA Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises Committee and Legal Policy and Research Unit) organised a very successful session in Miami on the digital transformation of small to medium sized law firms. It explored the experience of small/medium sized law firms and aimed to inform on the challenges and opportunities that this process entails. The session was moderated by ERF Regional Fora Liaison Officer Zoya Todorova and featured a fantastic group of speakers: Stefano Ceolin (Chief Innovation Officer, Portolano Cavallo, Milan), Merlin Seeman (Managing Partner, Hedman, Tallin), Michael Grupp (Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Bryter, Berlin) and Harvey Cohen (Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl, Cincinnati, Ohio).
It was acknowledged that smaller firms are different when it comes to innovation. The big difference is the budget and that’s the elephant in the room. The talk focused on the way of thinking required for digitalisation and the changes we need to make in our work, mindset, and communication in order to say that we are ’going digital’.
For smaller firms it is extremely important that innovation comes from the top, leaders need to do innovation for themselves. They must care for creating a diverse culture within the tеam and building trust so that people feel empowered to share ideas. This way the team can embrace innovation.