PAST PROJECT

"It's stunning how much more we can do now that we have the right data"

Silver Circle Law Firm

Design + Data Engineering

2023

Law firms struggle with analytics because their data is low-value

If you talk to people at law firms, they'll tell you about all the great and innovative ideas they have: fixed pricing, better work allocation, data-driven strategy. But they're stuck. Why? Because there's very little information captured and structured about the cases they work on - most of what they capture is simple accounting and billing data. Without a contextual layer of information, much of the innovation they want to see is simply not feasible.

A brand-new data pipeline delivering millions of new data points

They needed a huge new database. But it was so much more than that. We had to understand what to data to capture, how to structure it, and how to ensure continuous collection, automatically and at scale. A hard challenge. The type that we really enjoy.

350+
NEW DATA FIELDS
50,000+
NEW RELATIONSHIPS CREATED
HOW WE HELPED

Understanding the dynamics of legal procedure

We thought deeply for a long time about what the future legal practice should look like, with a focus on the software, algorithms and automation that'd help lawyers minimise time spent on non-billable work. The exercise was worthwhile - it became clear and obvious the type of data a legal practice would have to capture in order to evolve.

DESIGN-THINKING

Mocking up tons of little apps gave clarity to where time is wasted and the benefit that could be generated

DATABASE

With the end state defined, focus turned to the ontology and taxonomy of legal procedure

COLLECTION SYSTEM

Database built, we then needed to engineer a smart system that'd ensure consistent data collection

API

Legal data is understandably quite sensitive, so we built an API with a strict permissions structure

The data has transformed their entire business operations

Sometimes the simple things are the most impactful. Definitely the case here. With a huge new database and over 800,000 data points, the firm was able to fuel new innovation. They naturally started to do all the things they'd been wanting to do for years.

strategy

New insights just popped out, like a work type that consistently made 250% of the average fees

PITCHING

It's now easy to quantify competitive advantages, like the % of a claim saved for defendant clients

PRICING

With mountains of historical data, it's now both faster and easier to provide reliable price estimates

KNOWLEDGE

Everyone knows more; everyone now knows the price difference between a sole v panel arbitration

WHAT THEY SAID

"We just amazon-ed the legal practice"

Partner • Silver Circle Law Firm

OTHER PROJECTS

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