Is Disruption the new normal? Video of Law Fest presentation

“Is Disruption the new normal?" 

Presentation at Law Fest (the premier New Zealand legal technology and innovation conference). Video above and transcript below of panel presentation by Steven Moe of Parry Field Lawyers ([email protected]) in early March 2018 in Auckland. The focus is on lawyers but the concepts will be of interest to anyone thinking through what the term "disruption" actually means - do we mean tweaking for efficiency or truly fundamental change?

"All right - well, thank you everyone.

I guess at the start a little about me - a little of my story because it does weave in. As soon as you hear me open my mouth you hear an accent - I actually grew up in Christchurch and went to Canterbury University and I worked for a national law firm in Wellington for 3 years and then I did an OE and went to London and I worked for Norton Rose Fulbright for 3 years in London and then moved to Tokyo and worked for them for 4 years in Tokyo and then moved to Sydney and worked for them for 4 years in Sydney. 

My kids came home singing the Australian national anthem and we thought “It’s time for a change” - so we came back to Christchurch 2 years ago and have been based in a medium sized law firm - so there are 40 people and 8 partners. So I guess I represent that sort of medium sized firm (Parry Field Lawyers). And when I got back I was wondering about this word ‘disruption’ and what it means, and one of the things that we’ve done is enter into a joint venture with some software developers to create an AI powered chat bot which engages with customers that come to our web site and it is something that other law firms can purchase as well so it is not just for us. [More at https://activeassociate.com/] So that is my background, a little about me.

I have a question for you - what was happening in the world in 1909. Any guesses?

“Was the motor car invented?”

Well, I mean - that is sort of it, there was a lot of things being invented and I think it is good to just set the scene of where we are at in our own story - where we are at in the history of humanity. Think about 1909. The particular event that I want to draw your attention to is the Wright Brothers. They had just invented their airplane - brand new technology - but they hadn’t commercialised it, they hadn’t sold it - they had proven they could take off and they could land, but what use is that? So, in 1909 they trialed it for the US Government - they had to prove that they could stay in the air for 30 minutes and if they could do that they could show there was an actual usable technology. And they did it, and they were able to get money for their new product.

The reason that story is special to me is that my great grandfather was there. He was able to be there and watch it. And he wrote down in a letter what he had seen - and he was basically saying “I have seen the future for humanity”. And he was right. When you think about it, I was in Christchurch yesterday and I am here right now. Think about air travel - think about how quickly we can get from here to London - it is still 24 hours but it is fairly easy to do. So I guess to kick off - my question is this word “disruption” - I think we need to start with understanding what it is - but can I get a bit more interaction. 

What do you think disruption actually means? What is the definition of it? ... This is where you can talk.

"A fundamental shift in the way people do something in terms of new technology or what’s been done before."

So, a fundamental shift is the key thing there.

"Rendering other examples obsolete."

Yep - so rendering other examples obsolete…

"Changing course, a new way of doing things."

A new way of doing things.

That is really good and that sets the scene since this is a discussion arena - since I’d like to propose or talk about is “have we actually faced disruption yet, as lawyers”.

And the reason I am framing it that way is that when I look at what we have today - like, look at all the offerings and all the different technologies that we are talking about - we are still talking about being lawyers, and how the technologies are helping us to be better lawyers. We are not talking about the fact that we are no longer lawyers and there is no place for us.

I remember in 2001 when I had just started - literally a new graduate - and the partner was going on holiday to Europe. And we got an email saying “you’ll still be able to contact the person because they have this device - it’s called a Blackberry”. And it was like this mind blowing thing - that, Wow, they can be out and they are sending me emails. What an amazing thing. But it wasn’t like it had changed the “being a lawyer part” - it was an aid or a bit of technology that was helping them to practise as a lawyer better. 

On the way yesterday I took a taxi - remember what those were, taxis - and I was talking to the driver and I said, “how has Uber impacted you in your business as a taxi driver”. And his answer was actually really interesting, he said, “for me personally I don’t really notice it - what I find is that the people who take Ubers are getting rides that are short - like, from here to there, little short stops, and actually they are not the types of jobs that I ever wanted anyway - I was after more of the longer rides to the airport and things" - so it is just an interesting comment I thought. 

What are some of the other technologies that we have seen in recent years that are sometimes labelled disruptive. 

"Itunes and Apple."

Yep.

"Netflix."

Yea, so Netflix is a great example of something that actually really was disruptive - true disruption - and that is the line I want to draw in the sand. When you look at Blockbuster they had a bricks and mortar store model - you walk in the physical doors and you get the physical copy of your DVD and you walk back out. My understanding is that they were given the chance to buy Netflix in the early 2000s and they turned it down and the reason is that it was fundamentally opposed to their existing business model. And now wherever you go you see "closing down" signs on Blockbuster or Video Ezy - that is true disruption because that form of doing business doesn’t exist any more. 

Are there any other examples people can think of?

"Kodak?"

Kodak - yea, great example. How many remember taking a photo and you were thinking “how many do I have left - 24 or 36?” These days it is a child’s birthday party - I have got young kids - you know, it is “click click click” - take 100 easily. That’s right - but they did not see the changes that were coming.

My point is that those are examples of true disruption where an entire industry existed - and now it doesn’t exist. So it comes back to how we are defining it - what do we mean by the word disruption?

If we are talking about technology that helps to improve and make things easier for people, then that is one thing. But I am not convinced that is truly disruption. I think that is more helping us on the path to be more efficient. 

So, having said that or put that out there as an idea - we can talk about it and have a bit of back and forth as we go through this session. 

I kind of view it as you are on a road - are we viewing it that we are on the same road that we have always traveled as lawyers and there are pot holes coming up and we need to go around the pot holes in terms of what technology is allowing. Or are we actually moving over here and there is a new pavement - a completely different way of doing what we do. 

And the things that strikes me that we need to be arming ourselves with and that we need to be prepared for - because I come from a medium sized firm it is difficult to have change. 

So it seems to me that the first one is that attitude. The fact that you are here in this room shows that you are aware that there is changes - so that is the first key thing - to have that attitude of being open and be willing to think about what the future may bring.

The second thing I think is to explore the possibilities and to be open to what the changes might mean to the way we have always done things. 

The third thing I think being aware that what has brought us success in the past probably won’t bring us success in the future. And I think that is something that people in our industry tend to forget. Because ends to be a conservative industry where you look at what was successful before - let’s keep doing it and we will refine it a little bit and we will keep charging the same way we have always done. And I think that is a recipe for disaster.

Because I do think that “disruption" is coming in the sense of the word that I am using it - which is true disruption and the industry changing. 

So you have got to have those three key ingredients to be ready for what is coming. And it was touched on a little bit in one of the sessions this morning - and the example I am going to use is the Blockchain, because I think that does introduce some fundamental changes to the role that lawyers actually play. When you think about us - you know, those graphs where there is something in the middle - where there is an intermediary - I think that is the role that lawyers have traditionally played between two parties, but what happens when you do have these Blockchain contracts where you no longer need to go to a lawyer because Party A and Party B have agreed the terms and conditions of their contract - if there is no need for a lawyer, then that is true “disruption” because that means you are not going to be doing what you have always done in the past. 

So those are really some of the things that I wanted to touch on and I know that the other panelists have different perspectives and points of view and it so going to be great to get a bit of discussion with you all going as well. 

So, thank you very much."

Steven Moe is a corporate and commercial lawyer in Christchurch at Parry Field Lawyers with a special focus on the IT sector as well as working with Social Enterprises and also international companies and other investors coming into New Zealand. Free resources for start-ups and IT companies are available here (templates and articles). He helped co-found Active Associate an AI enabled chat bot solution for law firms and in 2017 wrote "Social Enterprises in New Zealand: A Legal Handbook". He interviews people for a weekly podcast called "Seeds: Talking Purpose" accessible in most podcast apps or at www.seeds.libsyn.com - there are more than 30 episodes with entrepreneurs, change makers, social enterprises and people leading interesting lives. He can be contacted at [email protected]