A conversation with Paul Lewis, Firmwide Managing Partner at Linklaters

A wide range of Salesforce customers attended our World Tour London event at the ExCeL in Docklands, and Paul Lewis, the Firmwide Managing Partner at global law firm, Linklaters, was one of them. He took some time to chat to me about how the legal industry is working to make the most of CRM+Data+AI+Trust, which was, of course, a key subject at the forum this June.

“I’ve been a practicing lawyer for most of my working life, and I have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to legal practice, but what I appreciate about forums like this is the chance to hear how other industries go about improving their customer care. And it resonates very well with my sector. Some people might be surprised by that,” he said. 

Many believe that the legal sector is quite different to other areas of business. It has clients rather than customers. It’s founded on legal expertise and experience which, some might argue, transcends mere customer-care rules. “That’s not true,” Paul stressed, “Sure, we’ve been around for 185 years, work in 21 countries, deal with the leading banks and investors, and work on huge corporate mergers and acquisitions across different jurisdictions, but in the end our clients are customers first and foremost. We need to treat them as such. And we can certainly learn a lot from Salesforce’s other customers, which is why it’s so useful to be here.”

Winning and KEEPING customer loyalty is getting harder

“I’ve seen research that shows customers shifting away from long-term relationships, which means keeping them loyal is becoming much harder. I think that trend will only deepen. 

“We can’t just rely on delivering exceptional advice anymore,” Paul said, “We have to be both brilliant and, critically, deliver a more responsive and human service experience. The right data at our fingertips is essential to doing that.” The ability to provide a very human service is the key. That’s why CRM is a vital tool. “Most lawyers still can’t quite grasp how important it is, but that’s because they’re too busy,” he added. 

Empowering lawyers to do much more on the go

Paul then described what he called the ‘taxi conversation’ which can sway partners’ views about technologies like CRM and AI. “They’re constantly moving from one meeting to another. If they can get their work done in the back of cab, for instance, or using tools that are intuitive and deliver the data they need instantly, then they’re going to like it. It makes their interactions with clients more compelling. That experience will convince them that AI is worth working with.”  

Paul believes that successfully adopting these technologies will help firms compete because, “This is the most competitive environment that I can remember. It’s really that simple. And, you know, I think it’s important to be excited about AI and all it can offer. We should look at this as being a great time to be alive and welcome the prospect of unlocking the power of AI to help us not only do more and do it better – but transform our profession.”

The legal profession is a service industry

“Once leveraging those technologies becomes natural and effortless, then they become essential to every lawyer’s day,” Paul pointed out. “We are a service industry, and we have to act like one. Ensuring the tech isn’t clunky might sound like a trivial point, but it’s key to deepening adoption and commitment to it. Salesforce does just that.”

Adopting new ways to engage with clients and leverage data depends on changing mindsets; “You need to have people who are willing to not just embrace change, but who also drive new ways of working. It’s sometimes hard for lawyers to do that – it doesn’t come naturally – but when people do accept change enthusiastically then you see great results.”

It’s important to get more confident about AI

The point is trust. Paul revealed that he’d enjoyed presentations by companies in very different sectors to his own at the World Tour. Hearing how they faced the challenge of change and embraced the promise of data and AI with confidence and realism was inspiring. “It’s not a quick fix, but it’s one that you have to begin doing now,” he said. 

It meant that he was convinced about the power of AI. “It can help us do the base-level work, for sure, but it’s also essential in helping us know our clients better and do more for them. Importantly, it frees up time for lawyers to do what they do best. They can focus on using their experience and judgement. Law isn’t the same every time, so technology that enables lawyers to be more responsive, dynamic, and flexible is really valuable.”

Paul is committed to embracing AI and its ability to leverage data to achieve deeper client engagement, “From billing to research, to timely insights that aid every aspect of our relationship with clients, AI is something we want to confidently lean into to achieve both short-term and long-term benefits,” he said.

Salesforce is Linklaters’ partner on their CRM+Data+AI journey; we can be yours too.  Find out more by taking a look at the eBook here and learn how you can stay ahead of the competition.