Innovation

LPM reporting and alerts

Crowell Collaborate reports on how matters are financially tracking at customized intervals. Reports can be tailored to include data points based on the needs of particular arrangements, matter teams, and clients. Crowell Collaborate also provides real-time alerts that notify our attorneys when a matter has reached designated customized thresholds. As new time is entered into our time and billing system, alerts are delivered to our attorneys’ and the Pricing and LPM team’s inboxes within minutes of the threshold being reached. Attorneys then assess the alert, respond to it, and/or communicate critical information to the client without delay.

Cross-department, data-powered insights

Crowell’s data warehouse is a powerful analytics and reporting resource that systematically collates and de-silos Crowell’s vast stores of information about attorneys, clients, and matters. This single source of truth enhances transparency and connects the right people with the right information so that we can deliver smarter, faster insights to our practice.

Modern knowledge management

CrowellKM is a curated and actively maintained database of best-in-class knowledge, categorized using a thoughtful, sophisticated taxonomy. Knowledge is accessible to attorneys on the spot through a user-friendly interface, reducing time spent searching and re-creating. CrowellKM enables attorneys to focus their time on higher-value work and contributes to ensuring that clients receive consistent, high-quality work product.

Bringing together information about our matters from disparate sources — with automation where possible and carefully designed processes for collecting other key data points — empowers our colleagues to spend less time with spreadsheets and more time focused on communicating and delivering results.

Whether a tool has been in use by the firm for years or is the hottest new trend, our approach is the same: Where is the highest, most practical value, and how do we leverage that value on behalf of our clients? In one case, we drove an exponential growth in usage through smart integrations, saving our client thousands of dollars in third-party administrative costs. In another case, we passed on a flashy new technology because we couldn’t define a practical application for our practice. In yet another case, we evaluated existing overlapping tools with a diverse group of users to define the highest-value audience and use case for each. In one year, our Innovation team evaluated over 120 solutions to determine not only whether they added or would add value to our practice but also how best to integrate the selected technologies into our practice to maximize the chances for real-world success.

Inspiring the innovative spirit

Our Innovation Insights CLE Series is made up of monthly presentations featuring our innovation initiatives wrapped in substantive educational content and presented by vastly experienced internal and/or external professionals. We invite lawyers and professional staff colleagues from across the firm and also periodically open up our presentations to clients. Examples include “The Right Route to Remote: Mitigating Risk When Hiring Out-of-State Workers” (featuring our Crowell Compass Workforce Compliance site), “What Is Corporate Legal Ops? (And Its Impact on Your Practice),” “Building a Better Brief: Avoiding Common and Costly Litigation Drafting Mistakes,” and “LawyerBrain: Breaking Through the Lawyer Mindset to Drive Innovation and Client Value.” The success of this series underscores Crowell’s culture of innovation and ensures that the work our Innovation team is doing is both tied to the challenges that give rise to the need for innovative solutions in the first place and amplified across the firm for maximum impact.