NewLaw

Enabling businesses to build legal functions of the future

newlaw optimising your law department

The pace of disruption to the legal industry grows at an unprecedented rate. New service providers, delivery models, technology and client expectations are driving the upheaval. Our team of world-class experts help in-house legal departments and law firms navigate the change and transform to more effective and valuable businesses.

You are:

 
An in-house legal team
A law firm

Challenges facing inhouse legal teams

In a world where in-house legal departments are facing budgetary pressures to reduce external spend and headcount, we can help you manage your finances to deliver more efficient legal services - whatever your budget.

 In-house legal departments are increasingly being seen as value-enabler, and not just a value-protector or cost centre. It’s more important than ever to embed a culture of measuring performance and an ability to articulate value to the business. We can help you harness the power of data to demonstrate the value of the legal function and discover insights.

Where your business’ compliance and control is achieved through considerable manual effort, we can help you navigate an increasingly complex risk and compliance burden and be prepared for the future.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the vast number of legal specific technologies out there. Your team’s IT architecture might lack integration, or might be fragmented or outdated. We can help you invest in the right LegalTech and integrate it into your wider ecosystem, uncovering efficiency where you did not know it existed.

Outdated, disparate and inconsistent processes can weaken synergies between systems and teams within your organisation. We can help you boost team collaboration and drive efficiencies across process-flows and knowledge management.

Services

Legal Operations Partnering

Accelerating your legal transformation agenda - Designing and delivering an impactful legal transformation program can be a challenge for most in-house legal teams. PwC’s award winning Legal Operations Partnering model combines dedicated on-the-ground and remote resourcing to accelerate your transformation agenda. Clients gain access to the deep capabilities of NewLaw and the broader PwC network, as well as embedded local support to help drive quantifiable change and real outcomes.

Legal Department Consulting and Implementation

Transforming what matters - When legal teams recognise the need for change, but don’t know where to start, NewLaw helps to baseline your current state and prioritise your transformation agenda. Starting with a diagnostic of your legal function across people and external counsel, process and technology, and benchmarking against industry peers and global best practices, we co-develop your strategy and transformation roadmap. Leveraging our extensive experience, we can also help you implement these recommendations - including scoping, delivery and change management. Our approach is the subject of a Harvard case study on client-centred legal innovation.

Legal Tech

Using technology to super-charge your performance - Navigating the fast-moving LegalTech market can be tough! Are you leveraging your current tech stack to its full potential? Do you opt for multiple point solutions or an integrated platform? And what features are 'must-haves'? Our experts help you identify, assess, procure, configure, integrate and embed the most fit-for-purpose legal technologies to improve your legal team's performance - all within your budget envelope and security requirements.

Legal Business Intelligence

Future-proofing your legal department through data - Legal functions often overlook the power of data, particularly the opportunity to leverage their data to unlock material, future value for their organisations. We help legal teams create and harness their data to inform metrics and enable data-driven decisions. This includes designing an underpinning data architecture and governance framework which integrates all of your core processes and technologies, and developing a reporting framework (with fit-for-purpose data visualisations) which supports your legal team's tactical and strategic decision-making.

Managed Legal Services

Focusing your efforts on more strategic work - Our experience shows that up to 30% of in-house lawyers’ time is spent on 'non-legal' or lower value work. Partially or wholly outsourcing more standardised and lower-risk activities releases your legal team's time to focus on the work that truly matters. Our managed legal and operations services range from transaction-specific support work to holistic solutions for entire subsets of legal departments. Whether near-shore or offshore, we provide the governance, processes and quality assurance to rapidly embed and operationalise effective outsourcing as a fully scalable turn-key solution.

Challenges facing law firms

The crash of 2008, and the COVID-19 pandemic, has cut legal budgets, embedded competitive panel pitches as the norm, and moved law firms into the same category as any other supplier. Clients' expectations are higher than ever, whilst at the same time demanding more for less. Return on investment is now more important than ever.

Driven by surging cost pressures, and the need to improve efficiency, leverage cutting-edge technologies and access specialised expertise, organisations are increasingly using new (no longer “alternative”) legal service providers. Law firms are facing mounting competition from these providers, with their growth accelerating in the wake of the pandemic.

An increasingly technologically-aware buyers’ market is looking towards law firms to invest in new technology to improve productivity, efficiency and service delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on remote and automated solutions, and the effective use of technology is now recognised as a key enabler for successful law firms.

Trends such as remote working, virtual collaboration and online working were visible long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Firms that settle for the status quo will miss out on the gains to be achieved from improved ways of working, such as expanding hiring pools beyond geographic borders, and capturing data to unlock efficiencies. Agile law firms that embrace new ways of working will be most successful.

Lack of specialisation is a leading reason for corporate clients switching law firms. Law firms are beginning to realise that a generalist legal services is no longer a sustainable business model, with many now focusing on greater specialisation of legal services offered.

Services

Client Experience Development

Create a differentiated client experience

The client experience has never been more important and requires new ways of working to set your firm apart from others. PwC NewLaw’s world class expertise in CX provides the strategic insight and toolsets required to innovate every touch-point in your client’s journey. We use Voice of Client research, journey mapping and human-centred design methods to help you deliver new value to clients and employees. Define your firm in a competitive market with a remarkable Client Experience.

Law Firm Transformation

Create a unique value proposition in the market

Differentiated performance is underpinned by strategy execution at all levels of your firm to drive transformational change and deliver results that clients and employees value. Our award-winning transformation approach and deep SME capabilities drive quantifiable change and real outcomes for our clients. PwC NewLaw specialises in optimising enabling functions for mid-size, large and global law firms - from  finance and HR to procurement and IT. Build a cohesive, service-orientated culture and an employee experience that differentiates your law firm. We understand organisational change and adopt an integrated approach to L&D, employee engagement and capability building to deliver your transformation initiatives.

Capability Development for Lawyers

Build a future-fit legal team

Your lawyers are the foundation of your business, and their ability to manage legal work is a key driver of your firm's overall profitability and culture. Future-fit law firms deliver legal work efficiently and effectively, form and retain high-performance multi-disciplinary teams; and embed process improvement and services innovation. These outcomes require strong skills in leadership and communications, project management and continuous improvement - which are not traditionally taught in law schools. PwCNewLaw offers industry-leading and accredited SMEs in legal project management, legal services design and leadership.

Outsourcing and Managed Services

Right-source your service delivery

The legal ecosystem is becoming increasingly integrated both horizontally across different service providers, and vertically across legal supply and value chains. Market-leading law firms leverage the benefits of outsourced legal and operational services, via internal shared service centres and captive LPOs, near-shore and offshore capabilities. Partially or wholly outsourcing more standardised and lower-risk activities unlocks capacity to focus on the work that truly matters. Our services range from transaction-specific support work to outsourcing entire functions. PwC NewLaw provides the governance, processes and quality assurance to rapidly embed and operationalise effective outsourcing as a fully scalable turn-key solution.

Legal Tech

Achieve significant efficiencies and cost savings through technology

PwC NewLaw helps firms to navigate the rapidly evolving legal tech market, and identify the key technology platforms to future-proof their legal practice. We support all aspects of your data and digital transformation - from requirements analysis to business case, procurement, integration, configuration and embedment. We start with  understanding how your existing IT infrastructure can be optimised, how current ways of working can be automated, and design your underpinning data framework. We have you covered for every legal tech platform including document management and automation, matter management, secure collaboration portals, AI-enabled document review and e-billing.