Lecture for Tech Transformation and The Law course at Osgoode Hall Law School on May 9, 2017.

1. Group Dynamics
and Collaboration
in Technology
Tech Transformation and the Law
Omar Ha-Redeye
Osgoode Hall Law School
May 9, 2017

2. Outline
• Intro: Why Collaboration Matters for
Innovation
• Background on Group Dynamics
• Fostering High Performance
• Regulatory Burdens to Collaboration
• Managed Conflict
• Case Study

3. Why Collaboration Matters
for Innovation
• Law is an inherently
“traditional” field
• Some traditions are can
be good
– Distinctions between
professions and other
businesses

4. Resistance to Change
Prevents Innovation
• But tradition stands in way of innovation
• Traditional structures and
workflows have worked well
enough for lawyers
• In Organizational Behaviour
terms
=
“high resistance to change”
Shaul Oreg, “Resistance to change: Developing an individual differences measure,” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 88(4),
Aug 2003, 680-693
Jeffrey D. Ford, Laurie W. Ford, Angelo D'Amelio, “Resistance to Change: The Rest of the Story,” Academy of Management
Review, Vol 33(2), 2008, 362-377

5. Yet Change is Already
Underway
• Market forces have pushed firms in
new directions
– Economic crisis
– Industry Restructuring
– Technology Disruptors
• It’s the lawyers who are left to change
Jordan Furlong, “How client succession is driving law firm consolidation,” Law21, Sept. 22, 2016,
https://www.law21.ca/2016/09/how-client-succession-is-driving-law-firm-consolidation/
Thomas S. Clay, Eric A. Seeger, “2015 Law Firms in Transition: An Altman Weil Flash Survey”,
http://www.altmanweil.com/dir_docs/resource/1c789ef2-5cff-463a-863a-2248d23882a7_document.pdf

7. Background on Group
Dynamics
– Types of Groups and Teams
• Lawyers traditionally do not work on
what would be properly considered
“teams” in industrial relations models
– Designing Optimal Teams for Law
Practice
• Why this is essential for technology and
innovation

8. Types of Groups
• Formal teams versus informal teams
– permanent versus temporary
• Increasing role of project management
in law
Formal Groups Informal Groups
Definition
A group created by top level management for
the accomplishment of a particular task (or
more, if permanent)
Group is created among employees to meet
affiliation needs (or transient needs, if temporary)
How they are formed
Functional groups created by top level
management deliberately and consciously
These informal groups develop among the
employees within the formal organizaiton
spontaneously
Relationship structure
A superior and subordinate relationship is
clearly defined A superior and subordinate relationship is absent
Communication channels Communication is through formal channels Communication is normally through the grapevine

9. Group Design
• Organizational structure largely determines how the
organization functions
– Law firms historically known as high-power distance,
highly hierarchical, and highly structured organizations
• Organizational size and internal composition also has an
impact on function
– Large versus small firm
– Internal diversity within firms

10. Typical Firm Structures
• Tracy Wymer, “The Emerging Law Firm Practice,” Knoll
Workplace Research, http://rdi-sf.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/04/wp_emerging_law_firm_practi
ce.pdf

11. • Team design, characteristics, size,
composition
– Homogeneous versus
heterogeneous

12. Focus: Racialization in Law
• The legal community in Ontario has a
particular problem with the inclusion of
racialized lawyers
– Invariably results in loss of talent
• LSUC approved 13 recommendations
on Dec. 2, 2016 to address systemic
racism in legal professions
Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees Working Group, “Working Together for Change: Strategies to Address
issues of Systemic Racism in the Legal Profession,” Law Society of Upper Canada, November 2016,
https://www.lsuc.on.ca/uploadedFiles/Equity_and_Diversity/Members/Challenges_for_Racialized_Licensees/Working-
Together-for-Change-Strategies-to-Address-Issues-of-Systemic-Racism-in-the-Legal-Professions-Final-Report.pdf
Omar Ha-Redeye, “A Diverse Law Firm: The Professionalism Imperative for 2017 - Why Law Firms in Ontario Will
Quickly Have to Reflect the Diversity of the Province,” Winning Your Case: What Works and What Doesn't, Ontario Trial
Lawyers Association, April 27, 2017, https://ssrn.com/abstract=2962534

14. Group Cohesion and
Performance

15. Self-Directed Work Teams

16. Value of Cross-Practice
Collaboration
• cross-practice
collaboration creates
higher value, more
sophisticated work
– less likely to
become
commoditized
– commands higher
prices
Heidi Gardner, “The Collaboration Imperative for Today's Law Firms: Leading High-Performance
Teamwork for Maximum Benefit,” http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=45696
Heidi Gardner, “Collaboration in Law Firms,” Harvard Law School,
https://thepractice.law.harvard.edu/article/collaboration-in-law-firms/

17. Lawyers Who Collaborate
Already Thrive
Heidi Gardner, “When Senior Managers Won’t Collaborate,” Harvard
Business Review, https://hbr.org/2015/03/when-senior-managers-wont-
collaborate

18. Regulatory Burdens
• Regulatory Burdens to Collaboration
– Autonomy, competence,
confidentiality and delegation
• Rules of Professional Conduct on
confidentiality and non-lawyers
• Alternative Business Structures (and
LSUC decision)

19. Case Study
Frances Bula, “New law space that works for the team,” The Globe and Mail, June 8, 2015,
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/new-law-
space-that-works-for-the-team/article24852120/
WARNING: COUNTER
NARRATIVE AVAILABLE

20. Debrief
• How was this conflict resolved?
• Did the time pressures help?

21. Tracy Wymer, “The Emerged Law
Practice,” Knoll Workplace
Research,
https://www.knoll.com/media/953/6
70/WP_EmergedLawFirm.pdf

22. The Conflict Process
• What are the sources of conflict?
– perceptions, conflict styles,
outcomes
• Inter-conflict management styles
– Cultural and gender differences
• Structural approaches and negotiation
tactics
– Primer on change management

24. The 5 Dysfunctions of Law
Firms
• #1: Absence of Trust
• #2: Fear of Conflict
• #3: Lack of Commitment
• #4: Avoidance of Accountability
• #5: Inattention to Results
Nicole Garton-Jones, “The Five
Dysfunctions of a Law Firm?,” Slaw,
http://www.slaw.ca/2010/04/06/the-five-
dysfunctions-of-a-law-firm/

25. Applying MFS to Law Firms
• managing for stakeholders’ theory
(MFS)
– strategy focuses on interest beyond
financial
– overarching goal to balance the
interests of all stakeholder groups
over time
Anne Brafford, “Building the Positive Law Firm: The Legal Profession at Its
Best,” MAPP Capstone Projects, University of Pennsylvania, at 33-34,
http://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstone/62/

26. What Does This Look Like?
• Greater emphasis on purpose and
meaning
• Integration of self-determination theory
into practice
• Strengths-orientation in management
people, high quality connections
• Foster physical and emotional
wellness, positive emotions
Anne Brafford, “Building the Positive Law Firm: The Legal Profession at Its Best,” MAPP
Capstone Projects, University of Pennsylvania, at 36-90,
http://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstone/62/

27. Role of Technology?
• Technology can make these new models of law
firms happen
– Communications, collaboration, efficiency
• New models are more likely to adopt new
technology, and foster broader innovation
– Cultural shift towards openness and developing
a “learning organization”
Omar Ha-Redeye, “Smart Lawyers Who Feel They Know Less,” Slaw,
http://www.slaw.ca/2015/11/08/smart-lawyers-who-feel-they-know-less/

28. Thank You
• omar@fleetstreetlaw.com
• @omarharedeye
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/torontolawy
er/