We had a conversation with the founder of Twelve Legal. We talked about Legal automation, the current state of technology in the legal sector, and his thoughts on cloud-based legal software.
Hi, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
- I am a legal practitioner and the Managing Counsel of the law Firm Twelve Legal.
When people ask you what you do, what do you tell them?
- I help clients resolve some of their most critical commercial disputes in the main. Some of these disputes need to be resolved through litigation in the courts or privately through arbitration. I also provide transactional advice to clients on transactions of a commercial nature in different market sectors.
Why the legal profession? Real reason o
- The real reason is that when I was to go to university, I did not know what I wanted to study. I had previously tried to study sciences but was poor at it. I decided to try law, and here we are. I love the profession now and am glad I made that decision.
Why did you decide to start your firm?
- I established Twelve Legal intending to deliver legal services in the way I think they should be delivered to clients, and we have been able to do so successfully for the last nearly three years.
What do productivity and efficiency mean to you?
- Consistently delivering desired outcomes in good time and above the minimum required standard.
How do you approach your legal practice?
- At Twelve Legal, our core values are Professionalism, Dynamism and Responsiveness, and these values underscore my approach to legal practice.
What technology tools aids your practice?
- We use the usual Microsoft office suite, pdf editing applications, online legal research software, and NextCounsel as our core practice management software.
Since you started using tech tools, what has been your most significant gain?
- We can better track our use of time and expenses.
Was choosing NextCounsel as a software solution provider a difficult decision?
- Really, it was not a difficult decision to make because it came in at a reasonable price point and had a valuable package of a number of the practice—management software tools we require.
What NextCounsel feature is your favourite?
- I think the auto time and activity tracker is a pretty helpful tool.
What do you think about the legal Ecosystem and the conversation surrounding legal technology in Africa?
- It is still in its infancy but is developing pretty quickly. Very soon, I expect the market to consist of a few competing service providers, which would help increase the quality-of-service offerings.
What feature do you look forward to having on the app?
- An improvement I would like to see on the app is better archiving and reproducing information inputted by users.
If you had a magic wand, what’s the one thing you would change about the legal Ecosystem?
- I would remove obstacles to the speedy administration of civil and criminal justice, which are present in the law itself and the organization of the court system.
What work culture do you think other law firms should emulate from your firm?
- I would say our core values of Professionalism, Dynamism, and Responsiveness also set us apart.
What made our product or service stand out from other options?
- We considered Nextcounsel alongside other options, which were by foreign service providers. Nextcounsel stood out due to its relatively decent price point, and that customer support would be local.
What made you happiest about working with our company
- Good customer support and relations.
What’s the main reason you recommend our product or service?
- I see the enormous future potential for the product, provided the growth and effort to improve is sustained.
Is there anything else you would like to comment on or say in general?
- It is essential to constantly improve the system and sustain those improvements to stay ahead of the competition. We remain happy to be users of your software, and I will continue to recommend it.
What will you tell a beginner about choosing a cloud-based software solution?
- It makes it easy for you to work remotely, especially in these times when being able to work that way is essential.