What if the problem in the legal sector isn’t technology, but management?
Over the past five years, the Spanish legal sector has enthusiastically embraced the discourse on innovation – artificial intelligence, contract automation and legal tech – to the point where it has become a staple topic at forums and in annual reports. However, the author points to an uncomfortable paradox: there is more talk of innovation than there is action to put it into practice. It is not a question of will, budget or tools, but of method: most firms launch their initiatives without a rigorous implementation plan, without measurable milestones and without a clear point of responsibility beyond the partner who came up with the original idea.
The result, according to Belén de Moya, is predictable: projects that start with enthusiasm, get lost in day-to-day operations and end up forgotten in a shared folder. This gap has deep-rooted cultural causes, as the legal profession has been built on individual judgement and a culture where prestige is measured by technical knowledge, not by organisational ability. Managing a project sounds like something a consultancy firm would do, not a law firm, and therein lies precisely the fundamental mistake.
The author illustrates her point with a real-life example: an organisation that had been trying for two years to implement a contract management tool, bogged down in meetings and pilot schemes that never got off the ground. The situation changed when a project manager was appointed who was fully dedicated to the role, had the authority to make decisions, and had a timetable with non-negotiable milestones. In just six months, the tool was up and running in three business areas, without any changes to either the technology or the available budget.
De Moya concludes that management is not an organisational luxury, but a necessary condition for digital transformation itself. Every project that is announced but not completed erodes the team’s confidence in subsequent initiatives and represents a real cost in terms of time and internal credibility. He therefore argues that, before choosing a tool or setting up a committee, the essential question should always be the same: who is going to lead this and with what plan? Without an answer to that question, there is no project, just a good intention.
Read the full article here in Expansión