By: BlackBoiler

Continuous improvement is built upon the belief that complacency is the enemy of progress and that resistance to change sets back all efforts to move forward. One model of continuous improvement developed by KaiNexus outlines 6 core guiding principles. We will examine these and see how they can be applied within the legal function and how technology such as BlackBoiler can support this culture of continuous improvement. 

1. Improvements come from small changes instead of major ones

The legal function is known for being late to the technology party and digital transformation. However, we have seen in the last few years a real shift in thinking about technology implementation. Trying a big-bang approach such as implementing a company-wide CLM system will often not be embraced fully by all stakeholders. A good way to start this approach to continuous improvement is to tackle change incrementally. At BlackBoiler, we focus on the most time-consuming and costly part of the contract lifecycle, that of contract review and negotiation. Using AI to automate this step proves to be a worthwhile incremental improvement to the legal function.

2. Ideas from employees are valuable

If continuous improvement is to become embedded in the culture of the organization, then it requires buy-in and focus across all departments and functions. Within the legal department, it means allowing the voices of all to be heard and perspectives considered. With the growth of legal ops in legal departments, a willingness to listen to these professionals by the senior legal leadership (GC, AGC, CLO, etc.) must become embedded in the culture of continuous improvement. Listening to them, especially when it comes to advanced technology such as AI, is a necessity if this concept of continuous improvement is to flourish. 

3. Incremental improvements are typically inexpensive to implement

Incremental improvements are going to be significantly less expensive than a big bang approach, and as we have argued elsewhere, more likely to lead to a quicker ROI. Scaling technology is more cost-efficient than scaling humans. At BlackBoiler, we’re increasingly seeing mixed teams of legal professionals and AI, with AI doing the grunt work and legal teams focusing on high-value activities.

4. Employees take ownership and are involved in improvement  

Employees must be involved not only in coming up with ideas for continuous improvement (as outlined in #2 above) but also in their implementation and ultimately accountable for the result. To drive such a culture, employees need to be able to see how their efforts contribute to the overall goals of the organization, and they must buy into the aspirational nature of their work. 

We have seen end-users of our technology promote AI internally and cheer-lead the incremental improvements they are seeing with BlackBoiler. 

5. Improvement is reflective

A function or department needs to know whether its actions are having an impact. One of the hallmarks of continuous improvement is incremental change (#3 above), but sometimes it can be difficult to get quality feedback if the pace of change is incremental. This is quite hard for humans. However, it is not hard for machine learning applications. The concept of continuous learning is inherent in the way AI works. With BlackBoiler, the AI and machine learning technology continuously improves after every use, allowing for quicker and more accurate contract reviews.

6. Improvement is measurable

Perhaps the single most important guiding principle of continuous improvement is that of measurement. The more you measure something, the better you can make decisions to improve it. While the AI at the core of BlackBoiler is constantly improving accuracy in response to the data it receives, the human half of the team requires more explicit feedback that can be easily digested, which is possible with our comprehensive data dashboards. 

Summary and Call to Action

If you are a legal ops professional, what can you do to further this culture of continuous improvement? We believe you can be the catalyst. You can bring your innovative thinking and your knowledge of legal technology and AI to the table. But you need to be vocal! Show the lawyers and the legal leaders the promise of the new ways of working. Let them see what a legal function might look like if small, incremental, inexpensive steps are taken, a great deal can be achieved and lead to raising the importance of the department. Truly then, legal will be seen as a strategic lever for the business.