With over 20 years of experience in the global legal sector and IT, Gavin Curtis currently serves as the Head of IT at Town Legal LLP. Before joining Town Legal LLP, Gavin Curtis worked for other industry leaders such as, Hogan Lovells, DLA Piper, Squire Patton Boggs, and Paul Hastings in various IT positions.
In this episode Gavin talks about:
- User Experience and Application Integration
- Cyber Security
- Change Management
- Town Legal’s plan for 2023
Show notes
- Intro (00:00)
Head of IT at Town legal LLP, Gavin Curtis, joins the show to discuss user experience in law firms, cyber security, and change management.
- User Experience and Application Integration (01:05)
The discussion opens on Gavin’s catchphrase; ‘Less clicks make it slick,” which he refers to throughout the process of implementing new applications. His goal is to make IT as simple and as slick as possible for their team.
Adding on, Gavin is determined to simplify technology at his firm. When new technology is being implemented into their system, he asks, “Does it actually work for the user?” and “Does it make work quicker and better for the user?”
Gavin discusses the fundamental steps to take when improving user experience. To ensure new applications work well for the user, he must first understand the user, their workflow, and what they want to achieve.
“The first thing to do is understand the user, what the user wants to achieve, understand their work methodology, and what their workflow process is.”
- Cyber Security (06:44)
The conversation shifted to cyber security, a topic in legal IT that everyone wants to learn more about. Gavin assures that Town Legal staff are well-versed in various cyber security issues, and that if they come across anything malicious, an internal team will deal with it.
Cyber threats are constantly evolving to match the ever-evolving technology that fights against it. Gavin’s team is committed to providing the necessary and ongoing training to combat any new issues.
Having implemented a facial recognition system in their laptops and systems, it will prevent other users from accessing the computer and data. Furthermore, they have a third-party 24/7 cyber security system on their laptops that is always on the lookout for new threats and reports them to the appropriate team as soon as possible.
“The first line of defence is the users; regular training, regular awareness, and just keep them up to scratch.”
- Change Management (09:38)
Gavin’s team has specified time slots for when the change should occur to minimise downtime for staff because system changes can be time-consuming and result in a variety of issues.
“Making changes can be quite challenging because we have a self-imposed change control but the issues that do happen as a result of these changes, the impact of it on business will be minimal.”
- Town Legal’s plans for 2023 (10:52)
In 2023, Gavin’s team plans to launch a new cloud-based Project Management System and increase integrations between all applications. Their goal is to maximise potential while improving efficiency.
Gavin also expands on cloud evolution, citing that the fear factor which existed few years ago has now disappeared.
“Now we, as an organisation and individuals, are embracing cloud-based platforms. We see the benefits; we see the potential of what it can do for us.”
Shaped for Law is a CTS-produced podcast series that takes you on a journey into the minds of legal tech leaders and innovators. Follow the link below for more episodes with CTS, as we explores the state – and the future – of legal technology.
