Another area is to copy what service providers have created for end users. For example, a telecommunications company in Germany has created an app that you can use if you suffer from problems in your Wi-Fi at home. Instead of calling a service line and waiting 30 minutes to listen to ugly music, the app connects to your Wi-Fi router and does some things in the background and tests the connection without you seeing it. If the app (which you can use on your smartphone) detects a problem, it will guide you through solving the problem. You don`t have to waste your time with a service line, you don`t waste money on that call and you get a quick solution. Something like this could also be used for common legal issues in a large company, which the company asks again and again. They simply feed the software with information that only a lawyer can give, the software works on its own, the business is supported and they don`t have to call the lawyer. Dr. Volker Daum explains how healthcare group B.
Braun Group has restructured and transformed its legal and labor practices to meet the demands of 21st century businesses. Of course, budgeting is always an issue because you need to have a compelling business case. You have to go to the CFO and say, “I need X`s budget, I`m going to invest in legal technology applications, and the return on investment is Z, and Z is more than X. But how do you argue that? I don`t want a conversation that some of my colleagues have had where the CFO says, “Of course, I`ll give you X`s budget, but please sign here that in return you`ll reduce the number of employees on your legal team by 20 or 30 percent.” That`s not how it works. I see two challenges in the use of technology in an in-house legal context. One is the budget and the second is that we need software applications that work all over the world. It doesn`t help us if we find the perfect solution for the legal team in Germany – we need to find the global application that the legal team can use in the UK, France, Sweden, Thailand, USA, Australia, South Africa, India – you call it. It must be such generic software that it can be used universally, perhaps also in different linguistic contexts, because although we are a global company where English is the language of the company, we still have local languages that are used in contracts. I think the return on investment in legal technology and software applications is in the medium and long term, not in the short term. This is not the case: you buy this software or this contract generator or this chatbot and then Pierre and Paul can go hiking. It`s not that simple, and if that`s the equation, then the equation will fail and the in-house legal teams won`t be able to convince their CFOs because they`re going to shoot themselves in the foot. In the long run, they may have less need to hire new in-house lawyers.
Even in the medium term, I would say it is feasible, but not in the short term. You have to be brave to make the investment, as it is difficult to predict the return on investment for the legal team. The Canadian company announced on December 3 the hiring of Former Director of Legal and Financial Affairs of Stornoway Diamond Corp., Anna Torkia Lagacé, as General Counsel. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering facilities in more than 25 countries in the aviation and transportation sectors. Bombardier`s shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the year ended December 31, 2019, Bombardier generated revenues of $15.8 billion. News and information can be found on bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier. Under Bellemare`s leadership, Bombardier hired Robitaille last year to succeed former General Counsel Daniel Desjardins when he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bombardier`s transportation operations. I read the other day that, according to a global consulting firm, 85% of the jobs people will have in 2030 do not exist today – which is pretty scary because it means that only 15% of today`s jobs will survive by 2030. But I wouldn`t say that 85% of what I do with my legal team won`t be done by us in 2030; I see different angles. As she oversees the first major implementation of technology in the legal field, Cristina Álvarez Fernández talks about the process undertaken by Cintra and how she sees the development of the legal sector. Robitaille, a former senior partner at Stikeman, spent two years as Chief Legal Officer for the canadian consulting firm WSP before joining Bombardier in March 2019 as a leading lawyer and corporate secretary.
Jones Day and Norton Rose Fulbright advise Bombardier on the sale of its rail operations to Alstom, represented by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg of Canada. Bloomberg News reported last year on the financial woes of Canadian diamond mining companies such as Stornoway, which hired Lagacé in 2014 from Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., where she served as senior legal counsel for three years. There is an angle where I have the ordinary citizen in mind, and yes, I think there will be a big disruption in the way people like you and I use legal services in our private lives. I think if you look at the tools available right now, there will be less and less need to hire a lawyer to help you resolve your legal issues and disputes. Bombardier Inc., a transportation conglomerate that is becoming an aerospace-focused company, is parting ways with a chief legal officer it hired last year. “We are delighted to welcome Annie to Bombardier`s management team,” said Éric Martel. She is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in corporate governance, compliance, securities law and supporting complex financial and strategic transactions. Annie`s deep legal expertise and business acumen make her a great addition to our business.
I see the benefits of legal technology software and legal technology applications not as a way to reduce the number of employees in in-house legal teams, but as a way for in-house lawyers to waste their time on administrative, repetitive and value-added work so that they have more time on brain work, where fortunately the software is not even better than the human brain or the legal mind. I really see this as a way to focus more on value-added legal work to move the business forward, so I think we`re doing our own in-house legal profession well if we find ways to better manage our time and energy. I come from the perspective of increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of in-house lawyers, rather than just looking for a cost-cutting measure. Annie brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate and commercial law and most recently served as Executive Vice President of Stornoway Diamonds, where she held a variety of positions including legal, corporate development, finance and asset protection. Prior to joining Stornoway Diamonds, she was Senior Legal Counsel for cliffs Natural Resources` Eastern Canada Iron Ore Division. Previously, Annie spent more than 12 years as an attorney in the business law groups of Stikeman Elliott and Blake, Cassels and Graydon, including four years in Blake`s Beijing office.