The idea of the major law firm as innovation's sore spot might be dying out. Yet in changing the status quo, it's important to distinguish what technologies are actually applicable from the mounds of hyperbole that exist in legal technology.

Holland & Knight's Joe Dewey understands this principle too well. As head of the law firm's Innovation Committee, he works with partners and associates to find, utilize and sometimes develop technology. And in doing so, Dewey, who began coding at age 8, learned an often-overlooked portion of innovation: It's a great way to eliminate “things that you might think are a good idea that don't really serve any useful purpose.”

In Dewey's view, the time to begin innovating is now. “While we don't know exactly what the legal profession will look like in five years, there's a growing sense it won't look like it does today,” Dewey said at Legalweek New York 2018. “If you were to just fast forward five years from now, I wouldn't want to be in a situation where that's when you started to try to change your business model. No one has a crystal ball. But to me, that's too risky.”

In this podcast, Dewey provides an in-depth look at how his firm automates tasks that “are not where great lawyers are made,” utilizing attorney expertise for practical yet needed workflow updates, and getting leadership interested in new ways of doing business.