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The rise of resource management in APAC
New data reveals a need for better resource management across the legal profession in the Asia-Pacific region, writes David Lee.
David Lee
In the wake of BigHand’s latest research, which gathered insights from over 800 legal professionals across the UK and North America, the relevance of what this data means to the APAC market becomes apparent. A staggering 75 per cent of respondents admitted to experiencing a drop in demand in the past year, coinciding with a persisting crisis of lawyers and support staff attrition. As lawyers seek more equitable work allocation, the concept of “smoothing” has emerged as a viable solution.
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I recently had the opportunity to meet with a top-tier firm to discuss work allocation “smoothing”. The aim of this approach is to level the playing field, ensuring that no lawyers are overwhelmed to the point of burnout while others feel undervalued and leave for better opportunities elsewhere.
It is no secret that some partners tend to rely heavily on their “A-team” for various matters, posing challenges in talent retention. The implementation of a resource management process can help ensure work is distributed based on several factors, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), career progression, capacity to handle additional work, and current utilisation levels. This not only makes lawyers feel valued but also results in the best and most efficient service for clients.
According to BigHand’s research findings, optimising business processes can significantly contribute to safeguarding profitability. An effective legal resource management system facilitates timely responses to legal matters, minimising delays and ensuring prompt resolution of legal issues. Consequently, this prompt resolution leads to fewer disruptions in business operations and enables quicker recovery from legal challenges.
Additionally, clients are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their understanding of matter pricing, resulting in heightened demands for data to substantiate pricing structures. Providing visibility into the team working on their matter, their utilisation rates, and DEI metrics becomes essential in satisfying clients and ensuring their contentment.
Although numerous top-tier firms in the region have either implemented or considered a resource management process, they often face significant challenges in the technology used to facilitate this change. Many firms resort to laborious systems like Excel to understand utilisation, capacity, and work allocation, leading to extensive manual work.
In this context, BigHand’s Resource Management solution stands out as the global leader in this space, supporting firms of all sizes with a range of benefits, including:
- Efficient, fair, and strategic work allocation;
- Real-time visibility of resource allocation and team capacity;
- Showcasing lawyers’ skill sets and promoting career development;
- Facilitating equitable allocation of work to support DEI goals;
- Safeguard profitability by empowering lawyers to resource matters more objectively; and
- Tracking and monitoring teams’ activities to better utilise human resources.
David Lee is the APAC sales manager at BigHand.
