Creating Space for Change
AI transformation is not about getting everyone to move at the same pace. It is about creating space for those who are ready to experiment, learning from what works and turning those lessons into better ways of working across the firm.
I believe this ability to learn faster will become a genuine competitive advantage for law firms.
The question is: how do we create that space?
I have seen this challenge from two perspectives. Earlier in my career, one of my responsibilities within a law firm was to create space for change. Now I face the same challenge as Ilves MyActivities Pro is being adopted by top law firms and professional services organisations across the Nordics and the Baltics.
One thing in particular has caught my attention: change rarely begins by getting everyone to move at the same pace.
Some people are ready to experiment with new ways of working earlier than others. It makes sense to give them permission to experiment and challenge existing processes. This helps us learn what works and what does not. Those lessons can then be used to move the entire organisation forward.
But experimentation needs direction.
That is why it is not useful to begin by asking where artificial intelligence could be used. Usually, the better question is: where do we want to create extraordinary value for our clients, and what needs to change in the way we work?
Answering this requires dialogue. We need a shared language for discussing clients, work, data, processes, economics and technology.
This is one of the reasons why the Legal Transformation Network is important to me. Since 2019, we have worked together to accelerate change by building this shared language across the legal sector.
At Ilves, we are now putting the same thinking into practice. As we develop Ilves Work, we are beginning conversations with our Ilves MyActivities clients about exactly this: how should the work itself evolve?
There is also a logical reason why we are starting these conversations with Ilves MyActivities. To redesign work based on data, we first need to understand how the work is actually done. Ilves MyActivities begins to build this foundation using real activity and time data validated by lawyers.
The conversation becomes much more concrete:
- What should we preserve?
- What should we change?
- What should technology do?
- Where does human judgement create the most value?
And perhaps most importantly:
- What can we learn from those early adopters who are already working in new ways?
Law firms that begin piloting Ilves MyActivities before the end of this year can join these first Ilves Work conversations and help shape what we build next. Our ambition is simple: lawyers start their day in Ilves Work, work wherever their work takes them, and ultimately record their time with AI assistance in Ilves MyActivities.
An organisation that learns faster is not necessarily the one that adopts the widest range of technologies. It is the one that creates space for experimentation, learns from it quickly and puts what works into practice.
A few years ago, I heard Arnold Schwarzenegger tell the audience at Nordic Business Forum in Helsinki to “sleep faster” to have more time to get things done. Maybe. But in the AI era, every law firm should at least be be asking itself: how can we systematically and continuously learn faster?
