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Data-savvy law

07 October 2016 / Jeff Hemming
Issue: 7717 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Smart data practices can improve work practices and profits in law firms, says Jeff Hemming

Smart data helps law firms understand business development drivers, establish key metrics and continuously measure against them. A smart data strategy that enables law firms to use data to find ways of working smarter and not harder is key at a time of increasing global competition in the legal sector. For example, US firms are achieving much greater profitability than their UK counterparts. If the UK top tier’s global net profit margin of 37% could match the US top tier’s of 46%, it would generate, on average, £115m of additional profit equating to £229,000 per partner (source: PwC 2015 Annual law firms’ survey).

Against this backdrop, it is vital that firms use data to provide the business intelligence they need to remain competitive. Legal professionals will see real benefits from translating raw data into actionable information that helps them respond to client demands for more resources, more time, and greater productivity—improving results and reducing costs along the way.

An evidence

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—Andrew Savage

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—Andrew Savage

Firm expands London disputes practice with senior partner hire

Druces—Lisa Cardy

Druces—Lisa Cardy

Senior associate promotion strengthens real estate offering

Charles Russell Speechlys—Robert Lundie Smith

Charles Russell Speechlys—Robert Lundie Smith

Leading patent litigator joins intellectual property team

NEWS
The government’s plan to introduce a Single Professional Services Supervisor could erode vital legal-sector expertise, warns Mark Evans, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, in NLJ this week
Writing in NLJ this week, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers argues that the ‘failure to prevent’ model of corporate criminal responsibility—covering bribery, tax evasion, and fraud—should be embraced, not resisted
Professor Graham Zellick KC argues in NLJ this week that, despite Buckingham Palace’s statement stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his styles, titles and honours, he remains legally a duke
Writing in NLJ this week, Sophie Ashcroft and Miranda Joseph of Stevens & Bolton dissect the Privy Council’s landmark ruling in Jardine Strategic Ltd v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd (No 2), which abolishes the long-standing 'shareholder rule'
In NLJ this week, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges of Red Lion Chambers examine the government’s first-ever 'Afghan leak' super-injunction—used to block reporting of data exposing Afghans who aided UK forces and over 100 British officials. Unlike celebrity privacy cases, this injunction centred on national security. Its use, the authors argue, signals the rise of a vast new body of national security law spanning civil, criminal, and media domains
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