With this in mind, DLA Piper were planning a number of local initiatives to ensure their clients continued to receive the best possible service in line with their global strategy. One significant catalyst for change is the relocation of DLA Piper’s Auckland office to a new building, giving DLA Piper’s NZ office the opportunity to upgrade its digital technology platform to help it support the flexible, modern way of working that is evolving throughout the firm.

DLA Piper needed to be confident that the right technology was not only in place, but that they would also be future-proofed as a result. Some of the technology changes included ‘off-premise’ hosting options, remote working options and WiFi. Appropriate transformation planning and forecasting was critical to ensure training, upskilling, technology implementation and testing occurs in the most efficient way possible, whilst mitigating all major change risks.

• Office relocation presented technology opportunities but needed to be clear on best fit and future-proofed choices
• IT team inundated with daily requests regarding legacy systems or equipment e.g. desktops freezing
• Slow on-premise servers
• Lack of Wifi reducing productivity
• Capacity concerns reducing ability to digitise paper files
• No clear roadmap to take advantage of digital technologies that deliver enhanced customer engagement or growth

The DLA Piper Board partnered with Stack Digital (formerly Techspace Digital) who works with businesses to give them the digital capability they need. Known as the Digital Business Plan (DBP), this outcomes-focused strategy results in a clear and practical technology roadmap.

By bringing together people, processes and technology, Stack Digital worked with DLA Piper to create the DBP using their Digital Framework. The robust process of interviews, site visits and workshops involving DLA Piper stakeholders ensured involvement, cooperation and feedback – the cultural element needed to enable successful lasting digital transformation.

A core component on the DBP roadmap included the migration of services to the cloud, resulting in staff being able to access work-related services from anywhere on any device, as well as increased stability, security and faster services.

People

• Outsource simple repeatable tasks/commodity services
• Refocus the team on key practice areas ensuring business processes, workflows and tools are optimised

Process

• Ensure technology has appropriate visibility and strategic intent
• Pragmatic operating processes in place

Technology

• Robust, fast devices, systems and technology supporting a ‘work anywhere’ approach with migration to the cloud
• Modern tools to drive efficiency

The DBP process with Stack Digital has helped DLA Piper NZ to align to the global DLA Piper business strategy, with a clear roadmap that exploits the latest technology to further optimise processes, ultimately delivering enhanced services to their clients. With this roadmap in place, and a programme of work underway, the local IT team is well positioned to lead DLA Piper NZ confidently into the future.

Significantly, the role of IT has moved from reactionary to that of a trusted advisor, helping with delivery of legal services that will position them to win more clients in the future. Specifically, the transformation planned will align DLA Piper’s IT team to help lead DLA Piper into the digital world by:

• Focusing on ensuring all client data continues to be safe and secure utilising the latest security solutions and ensuring operational security in an industry where secure customer data is paramount
• Realising benefits for their clients from the latest legal technology trends delivered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Court Processing
• Changing focus from legacy operational issues to the services that drive DLA Piper’s legal practices, allowing DLA Piper to become more competitive
• Ensuring both clients and staff benefit from a modern work environment including flexible and remote working options supported by fast, relevant technologies

The team at Stack Digital has enabled DLA Piper NZ to quickly and pragmatically achieve the firm’s digital business objectives. A clear and concise digital roadmap has enabled key decision makers to prioritise technology choices, as well as adapting to ongoing digital processes.

Joanna Simon, COO, DLA Piper NZ