Pitfall #1: Too much at once

Law firms and legal departments are beginning to embrace document automation. We can learn a lot from the lessons they have learned. We share the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.

Many firms want to automate all documents used within the office at once. As a result, they face a time investment before any cost savings or quality increase is attained. This leads to procrastination.

3 tips to avoid this

1. Start with simple documents
We often see firms start with a 30-page document with many complex references. We prefer to start with a document that is not likely to cause too much discussion. With a simple document, modularization is easier to master and you will see the results of your efforts faster.

2. Create internal ambassadors
Search for the department with the most recurring use of documents and the highest willingness to try document automation. Once the first documents are successfully implemented, share your success with the other departments:

• the investment in time and money is recouped in just a few months
• on an annual basis the software is generating a profit of €X per document*.
• generating documents automatically is much less cumbersome than copying and pasting from existing templates
• the quality and consistency of our documents has improved in terms of content and look and feel

* In order to make this claim it is necessary to sell the automated documents for a fixed fee.

3. Spread the time investment
Don’t try to do everything at once, but introduce the technology in phases. ICT specialist for law firms Eva Peeters advises her clients to take up to two years to get all departments on board.