Mark Paolo Navata Disruptive Innovation

MSIB-2018 Final Paper

Omnibus: A disruptive innovation case

The legal profession has existed since time immemorial, but only little innovation has
been observed that happened in this profession. While other industries have long embraced
automation, digitization and technologies such as data analytics and the cloud, the legal
profession has yet to figure out the benefits of applying these innovations to its discipline. Our
team saw the potential to enter into IT projects related to the legal profession as simple as
creating websites for them. Along the way, we have witnessed that lawyers have been slow in
adapting to modern technologies but they are, little by little, realizing the need to digitize,
automate and modernize their processes to realize efficiency to be on a par with other
industries. Thanks to our very own Prof. Toby, we have been able to synthesize our thoughts
and construct a job-to-be-done pyramid in our mind. The pyramid starts with the job to be done
(JTBD). The primary JTBD of legal professionals based on our interviews and observations has
been the processing of information in a structured, efficient and simplified manner. Manual and
traditional processing in the legal profession simply takes up a lot of billable time and wastes
precious resources.

Lawyers, paralegals and managing partners have always been immersed in paperworks
as the nature of legal profession so requires. The process of storing, sorting, retrieving, and
organizing data take up so much time that may be used for revenue-generating activities. The
main profit formula that legal establishments rely on their time spent on legal services which are
billable to the clients. The time is directly proportional to their revenues which means the longer
they spend on the case, the greater revenue they get.

The processes necessary to bill the clients underutilize resources due time-consuming
and inefficient methods. For example, generation of reports have to go through a number of
steps which can be eliminated with simple digitalization and majority of data are also not
accessible outside office when they meet potential clients. This is extremely dissatisfying for
managing partners as a number of billable hours are spent on trivial tasks that can be
performed more efficiently or can be aided by machines at virtually and dramatically lower costs.
While some lawyers, paralegals and law firm managers are afraid of the disruption that
technology potentially brings, it is important to note that the goal is not to replace them but
merely to aid them as they perform their daily tasks to potentially generate more revenue and
bring more value to customers.

Typical legal practice starts with meeting the clients for interviews to know more about
the legal issues of the customers pertinent to the case. Legal research usually follows, then
comes the drafting of pleadings to be submitted to the courts. Many other complex processes
form part of law practice. Billing the clients and reimbursing lawyer expenses typically conclude
the legal practice. Tracking and monitoring the whereabouts of data become very frustrating
especially when the organization is large or a lawyer handles multiple cases simultaneously.
Handling cases simultaneously are typical in legal practice since it takes years to clear a single
case caused by myriad of factors such as clogged courts and delaying tactics of some lawyers.

Based on the key points mentioned above, we developed Omnibus, a cloud-based

management platform for legal practitioners. It utilizes technologies such as cloud and data
analytics to provide a systematic solution to legal practice woes. It basically does the primary
jobs to be done of the legal practitioners as they perform their law practice in their offices. The
brand purpose centers on providing peace of mind and allowing legal practitioners to focus on
things that really matter such as winning cases and cementing reputation in the legal arena. Our
information system promises higher revenues, data-driven decision making, accessibility
anywhere and anytime, and a secured platform. With the following benefits brought about by our
platform, legal practitioners will be more empowered to deliver value to their clients and
compete with other legal professionals abroad in terms of technology readiness.

We are essentially creating both a new and low-end market which will serve as our
foothold as disruptors. Law firms in the Philippines have not generally adopted cutting-edge
technologies in their practice. The third top-grossing law firm in the Philippines, for example, has
not yet moved into the cloud. While they are part of a very few law firms which have embraced
technology, they have failed to modernize their system which was built in 2005-2007. The said
system is on-premise that is only accessible within the law firm and the application used works
only for Windows desktop with .exe file format. While some prominent law firms tried to
implement an IT system but their IT projects failed.

The legal profession can also serve as our pocket segment which is a neglected
segment by large incumbents in the software industry as they focus mostly on larger
corporations and more lucrative industries such as banking and finance with the need to
automate finance, human resource, procurement and many other processes. Based on our
interviews, auditors also need the same platform we are building for legal practitioners. As such,
we are adamant about cementing our foothold in the legal field so that we can expand to other
fields in the near future.

Our system is also aligned with the processes of our target market. Modularity will be
sustained for our design architecture so that moduIes can stand alone and be used
independently. Our modules are billing, document, matters and tasks, clients and administrator.
Through this modular approach, legal practitioners can choose what best fits for them to enable
the tighter fit between the value proposition and the actual needs of the market.

The JTBD approach provides a pot of gold for small-sized entrepreneurs like us as we
capture small market share of our chosen industries. The theory of disruptive innovation serves
as our guide and allows us to strategize more clearly, pushing us to focus more on new or low-
end markets instead of facing the offerings of the giants of the industry.
Exhibits

Figure A: JTBD pyramid

Focus on
things that
really matter

Innovative culture, funding and

technology

Frustration and Dissatisfaction

Processing of information in a structured, efficient and

simplified manner

Figure B: Typical legal practice - simplified processes plus emotions of lawyers