From Legal Services to Legal Products: The Boiling Frog Lawyer ??

Let's face it, the impact of #AI in the everyday legal practice has so far been more of a hollow echo than a resounding boom.

There's this frenzied gold rush, where everyone's clamoring to show off their AI credentials, more for the sake of marketing and keeping up appearances than actual, transformative impact. Everyone's talking a big game about AI, but when it comes down to it, where's the seismic shift? It seems more like a parade of flashy announcements and futuristic promises, yet the day-to-day life of lawyers remains largely unchanged (with some lucky exceptions, which I am happy to be part of).

It's like everyone's waiting for a big, dramatic moment when AI will suddenly revolutionize the industry overnight. But here's the kicker: it's not going to happen that way.

Enter the boiled frog metaphor, a delightfully grim tale that paints a picture oh-so-relevant to our legal eagles. Picture this: If you throw a frog into boiling water, it'll jump out immediately. But, if you put that same frog in tepid water and slowly heat it up, it'll just chill there, blissfully unaware, until it's, well, boiled.

In a similar vein, many in the legal field are lounging in their lukewarm baths, oblivious to the slowly rising temperature. They're ignoring the subtle yet steady encroachment of AI and automation. It's as if they're expecting a grand, disruptive entrance of AI that shakes the foundations of legal practice (hoping to be already retired by that time). But the reality? It's more of a slow, creeping change – less Hollywood blockbuster, more indie slow-burn.

Productizing legal services: harnessing technology to innovate traditional business models

The acceleration of opportunities created by digitisation has profoundly affected the legal sector, triggering a transformation of considerable magnitude. Problems such as market saturation, reduced profitability and excessive bureaucratization of processes can now be tackled with an innovative approach.

Thanks to the use of technology and digitalization, it is possible to innovate the traditional way of providing intellectual services, alongside the provision of scalable legal products that open the door to new lines of business.?

What is productization?

Productization is the process of analyzing a need, defining and combining suitable tangible and intangible elements into a product (of various forms, but generally digital) that is standardised, repeatable and comprehensible.

Products - in the context of the legal professions - can be, for example:

• Document Standard Packages: These packages contain standard legal document templates, such as prenuptial agreements, privacy notices and confidentiality agreements. Clients can adapt them to their specific needs using smart editing features prepared and configured by the professional, making the creation of the final document more efficient.
• Tools for Complex Legal Processes: These are digital tools, such as downloadable files, plugins or online services, designed to simplify complex legal processes. These tools can help in risk analysis, contract review or corporate due diligence, making these activities more efficient and precise.
• Smart Assistant: such as chatbots or advanced virtual assistants, can automate repetitive and standardised legal tasks. For instance, they can help handle privacy claims or consumer complaints by filtering and sorting requests into pre-constituted responses, allowing practitioners to focus on more complex, high value-added tasks.
• Real-time prevention tools: using AI, it is possible to create useful products for error prevention during daily business operations. For example, based on pre-defined categories or use cases by the lawyer, it can flag privacy risks during the development of software products, identifying such critical features in real time before releasing the software into production. This proactive approach reduces the risk of privacy violations and helps ensure regulatory compliance right from the development stage.

Transforming a legal service into a product doesn't mean reducing the quality or depth of legal advice. It also doesn't remove the direct connection with the client (??Spoiler: I've met hundreds of new clients globally while delivering pitch sales for a data transfer assessment LegalTech tool I've developed, and the relationship got stronger while providing training and support in using the tool).

On the contrary, productization makes it possible to enrich the offer of legal assistance, meeting the expectations and operational needs of clients, just as has happened in other sectors. No one - as of today - expects to have to physically go to a bank counter to make a transfer, just as customers do not expect to have to wait longer to obtain a legal service that can be achieved in less time using technology. At the same time, what client would be willing to pay for a lawyer's time to do legal research by purely traditional means such as codes and paper volumes, when he/she could consult a digital legal database?

Why lawyers should care about productization

Since the early years of the new millennium, many everyday professional activities such as document drafting, legal research and remote communication have seen an increasing use of technologically advanced solutions, which help professionals by automating the performance of low-intent or repetitive tasks (e.g. formatting checks or updating dates/references/definitions) and support them in the performance of more complex tasks, simplifying and improving their work.? But not all that glitters is gold.

Law firms today find themselves competing in a globalised and increasingly fluid market, where as clients increasingly seek to internalise their activities their own share of the market is threatened by consultancy firms, LegalTech start-ups and alternative legal service providers. In the words of Richard Susskind, 'the competition that beats you is the competition that does not look like you'.

The commoditisation of certain legal activities or services is a valuable additional strategy to enable lawyers to remain competitive, strengthen their fiduciary relationships with clients and continue to perform traditional strategic legal advice activities.

Limits to the transition from services to products

The provision of legal services requires a combination of in-depth technical knowledge, experience and reliability, which are essential requirements for establishing and - in most cases - maintaining relationships with clients, both internal (for in-house lawyers) and external (for freelancers). Clearly not all legal activities lend themselves to a transformation into scalable products, there are some limitations to be taken into account.

• the billable hours dilemma: the traditional fee calculation model of some firms is based primarily on hours worked, which can raise operational problems, for example, with regard to the reduction of billable hours (because they are used for product development) or the distribution of profits obtained from the sale of products or the allocation of intellectual property rights.
• Deontological binaries: Providing legal advice is a delicate activity that has to do with the rights of individuals and companies, one must always take into account the specific ethical and deontological rules that - depending on the case - may provide for obligations with respect to professional liability or limits with respect to the activities that can be rendered in the form of a product, how to advertise them and how to inform clients about the risks they run in using them.
• To be or not to be: some activities compulsorily require the physical presence of a lawyer (e.g. taking part in a court hearing), while others are based on a personal and direct relationship with the professional (such as attending a meeting to make decisions on a trial or a corporate transaction). These activities, as obvious, are not the perfect fit for productization.

How to design a legal product

Legal advisory activities often involve end products like legal advice, risk analyses, and scenario forecasts. Today's technologies enable us to distribute such information through various channels and anticipate market needs. For example, analyzing customer requests and monitoring regulatory changes can reveal unexpressed needs, like the recent demand for AI pilot project support.

Once a market need is identified, it's crucial to assess the ethical, legal, and economic viability of potential solutions. This involves the idea-validation phase and strategic planning tools like the Business Model Canvas (??Spoiler: I've developed a tool that streamlines and automates the Idea Validation and Evaluation process for improved ROI forecasting. Contact me for more details).

Services traditionally billed hourly to a few customers, such as bespoke training courses, can be transformed into information products like e-learning platforms. These can be licensed or sold to a broader audience, offering training content and user tests.

The application scope varies depending on the practitioner's innovation capacity. Transitioning from mere digitization (merely adding technology to old methods) to true innovation means using technology to create different business models and client relations.

While trust in a professional's work remains paramount, leveraging innovative service delivery can enhance client relationships and more effectively meet their evolving expectations, particularly as clients now seek advisors proficient in technology and guiding their legal digital transformation.

What skills are needed?

Building a legal product first requires specialized legal knowledge, including an in-depth understanding of laws, interpretation skills, and the ability to apply them in real-world situations. Skills like simplifying complex legal matters into straightforward questions or creating logical decision trees are also essential.

Beyond these legal competencies, technological and design skills are vital for translating legal requirements into practical, user-friendly solutions. Technological skills enable the selection and implementation of appropriate technologies for product functionality and data security, while design skills are key to crafting an intuitive interface and enjoyable user experience.

Additionally, a deep understanding of the organization's business model and the specific needs of target users is critical: fall in love with the problem, not with the solution. This ensures the development of a legal product that meets both regulatory standards and user expectations.

These diverse requirements necessitate multidisciplinary teams, where lawyers, developers, and designers collaborate effectively.

Conclusion: is it worth it to experiment with an innovative business model?

The legal profession is undergoing an unstoppable evolution. This change presents an opportunity for lawyers to redefine their service delivery by blending technology and innovation with traditional practices. It's a pivotal time for the sector, with the ability to adapt and fully leverage digitization being key to future success and relevance.

While traditional legal services remain central to law firms, the current trend towards commoditizing legal activities offers a promising path to increase efficiency, meet client needs, and stay competitive. Lawyers must thoughtfully explore these opportunities, as change is inevitable. Those who embrace innovation will be better positioned to lead the industry into a promising future.

As Charles Darwin aptly put it, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."