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Helping other departments better understand new technologies

Communication is key in ensuring that all departments of a business are informed about legal tech that is changing the game.

user iconJerome Doraisamy 31 December 2019 Corporate Counsel
Xakia CEO Jodie Baker
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On a recent episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, Xakia CEO and founder Jodie Baker said there is a “misconception about technology that it is insurmountable”.

When asked how best legal teams can ensure everyone is up to speed on the latest developments, she said the first thing is that everybody should feel confident asking questions.

 
 

“There should be no silly questions when it comes to technology. If everybody is adopting the same technology, then making sure that you ask the question that probably 10 other people in the room or two other people in the room are thinking is only going to be helpful to everybody around the table. And even if others know the answer, reinforcing the answer is not going to be a negative thing,” Ms Baker posited.

The same goes, she continued, in ensuring that other departments within a company know what they’re doing and that they’re aware of what the legal team is up to.

“Legal is uniquely positioned right across a corporate organisation to understand or to have a full view of everything that’s happening right across that organisation. And while you get a lot of corporate services, often they’re quite streamlined into a particular body of work or in just a very, very narrow part or vertical of the organisation,” Ms Baker explained.

“Legal like finance can go right across the organisation. And so, it has the opportunity to both learn from other parts of the business and also to articulate what they are doing and how it impacts the rest of the business. Some of the technologies that would be adopted would actually impact other parts of the business.”

For example, she continued, if one is using a legal intake tool, any part of the business might need to make a request of legal, “and it would then need to come in to the legal team, but the technology being used could affect any part of the business”.

“Similarly, the likes of workflow processes and automation and self-help tools and those sorts of things can really [impact the] rest of the business,” Ms Baker said.

“But communication, not going to be any surprises in this answer, it’s all about the communication, two-way communication. So, allowing the business to ask the questions and making sure that you are keeping that business informed.”

On the same episode, Ms Baker said Australia is a legal tech leader in the Asia Pacific, creating myriad choices for in-house counsel as well as those in private practice.

To listen to Jerome’s full conversation with Jodie Baker, click here:

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.

You can email Jerome at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.