Connect the dots with iManage: Using conflicts results to drive the creation of information barriers that protect clients
In an increasingly complex risk landscape, using technology to optimize conflicts searches is becoming a necessity for law firms.
Introduction
For law firms, conflicts searching is a complex process with high stakes. Unfortunately, following a predetermined checklist and ticking off the boxes is not enough.
Conflicts are not always obvious, and missing those that are more obscure can present big problems for the firm. Because at the heart of it all, the “why” of conflicts searching is less to protect the firm than to protect the client – to protect their interests by protecting their information.
The goal of each conflicts search is to unravel a complex web of relationships between people and companies to determine whether taking on new work or hiring a particular lawyer has the potential to compromise a client’s interests or raise ethical or other business concerns.
While the ethical burden to avoid conflicts of interest is the professional responsibility of each attorney, law schools don’t spend much time on the subject. (Source: lawpracticetoday.org) To add to the complexity, unrelated to conflicts involving attorneys, firms also face pressures to avoid taking certain kinds of business for reasons that might be regulatory, political, or something else.
Each of these considerations is fundamental to a new business intake analysis. In an increasingly complex business landscape, to adequately protect both the organization and its clients, centralizing the acceptance process and incorporating technology to optimize conflicts searches is becoming a necessity for law firms.
Click here to read the complete report
