Poor record management is often associated with inefficiency and corruption. To change that, George Njoroge, software expert and engineer, has come up with a technology tool that helps busy lawyers and in-house legal officers save time and operational costs, increase efficiencies and make better decisions.
Njoroge, is the founder and CEO of Enfinite Solutions, the first company in Kenya to offer a digital legal service platform for organisations.
With technology being the driver of efficiency in most aspects, Njoroge says law firms are slowly but steadily adapting to the tech evolution. He says most people don't know exactly what kind of data they hold – and its value – due to poor record keeping.
“I keep giving this reference to some of our clients, that you could have a department with 200 files or so, bringing in more business than another department with over 1 000 files. Do you just focus on the good business that you're getting from this one department? Do you hire more people in that department that's increasing your revenue? Most people are not able to tell because they don't have any infrastructure to analyse each other. If you can't analyse – if you can't measure – you can't improve.”
Njoroge says there are three metrics that every law firm in Africa should be measuring: understanding how many clients they have and who they are, billing, and the debt to equity ratio.
He adds that legal tech has the greatest efficiency potential when it is used to replace repetitive manual tasks such as tracking hourly rates, billing and debt.
But what does it take for a law firm that has always done things manually to transition to using technology?
Njoroge says his company starts by mapping out the firm’s data, understanding their clients and giving them a scenario where everything is available on one platform. This covers business management, accounting and finance, and the human resources aspect.
Another trending topic Njoroge speaks on is that of data protection and security. He discusses why it is important for every lawyer to be aware of the regulations – and why firms need to have robust policies in place to ensure compliance.
The conversation wraps up with Njoroge explaining how easy it is for lawyers to make use of Enfinite’s products and services. “Once we do a customisation for the climate, they are able to be up and running within two weeks,” he says.
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