Six years ago Bill Deckelman faced a mammoth task.
Two companies were merging to form DXC, now a $17 billion company with 130,000 people.
And he needed to merge their legal departments.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Bill decided it was the perfect moment for legal to embrace data and tech.
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Fast forward to today.
Bill and his team have achieved what they set out to do.
DXC legal is thriving. And Bill is known as an innovator.
Last month I sat down with him to talk about his experiences.
I was especially curious to hear his advice for legal teams that are getting started with tech.
Here are 5 nuggets from Bill:
1️⃣ Be clear on your goals and prepare to commit for the long haul
Bill and his team started by documenting processes and figuring out what they wanted to achieve.
They chose to focus on creating more value for the business using data and technology.
Once they were clear on their goals, they created a 5-year plan.
They didn’t start seeing meaningful results until year 3.
2️⃣ The right partners can accelerate your progress
Early in the process, Bill partnered with digital transformation specialists UnitedLex.
The partnership has been a cornerstone of DXC legal’s success.
What kind of things have they done together? Most recently, UnitedLex helped DXC overhaul their contract review process.
3️⃣ The whole team needs to get involved
Every member of Bill's team understands the mission and knows they can’t stay still.
In his experience, people can become change-oriented. But not everyone can make the leap.
“It’s important to give people an opportunity to learn” and explore their curiosity.
4️⃣ Law firms need to reframe their thinking
Law firm partners often fall into the trap of thinking the GC is their client.
But the business is their real client.
Bill loves it when lawyers sit with him to learn about the DXC business and explore how they can work together.
His advice for law firms?
“If you want to move to the next level of digital maturity, start thinking about what the business needs.” And focus on data.
5️⃣ There is always more to do
Bill and his team refresh their roadmap as technology evolves. This work is never finished.
Yet he still wakes up feeling energised on Monday mornings.
That’s because Bill loves business. And in his words, “the essence of business is change”.
This article is a write of up my live interview of Bill Deckelman at TechLaw.Fest 2022 in Singapore.