121: Beyond the Big Bang with Jeff Pfeifer of LexisNexis

LeftFoot - Fresh Conversations on the Business of Law

Capitalizing on Incremental Improvements

On Episode 121 we talk with LexisNexis, VP and Chief Product Officer, Jeff Pfeifer. Jeff is responsible for product strategy having established his organization as a leader in legal analytics and data-driven law.

Jeff begins our discussion by noting that access to big data and incremental tech development is resolving legacy problems within the legal industry. That in-house counsel is increasingly forward-thinking, using data to inform their responses, and looking to firms to use data in their recommendations. This data is validating a path forward and supporting what is likely to happen.

An additional challenge brought on by the proliferation of data is the need for a different skill set to access the data and make data-based recommendations. Helping organizations be change ready is where the opportunity lies. There’s a real need to build in-house teams in support of these initiatives including identifying team members who are not intimidated by tech and the advantages it brings.

There was agreement that both firms and in-house departments are in the early days of this new data, process and technology driven model. Examples exist where workflows are undergoing reconstruction, and engagement of outside counsel is being radically modified. An opportunity exists to break down and understand processes so that we can rebuild and better align with today’s environment.

This is less big bang and more incremental process improvement. It’s about 100s or 1000s of small improvements applied over time. The time has come to stretch out in innovation labs, to take a serious look at iterative thinking, and failing faster within legal.