How technology can positively impact risk management

Steven Thomson from Morton Fraser MacRoberts and former winner of the Innovation Cup Competition discusses the changes to this year’s competition and why you should enter.

Earlier this month, the Law Society of Scotland joined Lockton and RSA to launch the Innovation Cup Competition, the seventh year of a project aiming to find practical solutions to solicitors’ professional risks.

This year, the competition is set to be a bit different with an emphasis on technology.

The Focus on Technology

When we think of artificial intelligence, we tend to think about the risks associated with using generative AI tools but we should also be thinking about how these tools might help us to eliminate professional risk.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about the potential of technology in risk management. As discussed at the Law Society’s Technology Conference last month, predictive analytics will be increasingly useful in identifying future risks and, in my view, technology and artificial Intelligence hold huge potential to help address some of the biggest risk management challenges faced by the profession.

That said, as a profession, we’re still somewhat in the dark about the areas of professional risk where technology will prove most transformative. The Law Society hopes that this competition will help shed light on these questions - by incentivising the legal community to advance and anticipate the positive impact of technology on risk management.

My Own Experience of the Competition

Tips for Entering the Competition

1. Find your idea

So, how do you come up with an idea? Identifying the problem is always a good start. What are the professional risks in your area of practice? Are there areas of work where simple errors or oversights could result in complaints or claims from clients? That’s your starting point.

Now you just need to imagine a solution or tool that would ensure that the risk is avoided or at least mitigated against.

When it comes to the solution, don’t worry too much about how the technology itself would be developed or whether it’s even possible (e.g. through an app, a programme or a device). You’re only limited by your own imagination.

2. Discuss and develop

I’d recommend discussing the concept within your own firm at first. This should be your first step towards submitting your entry. Share the idea with a senior colleague or mentor. Discuss the idea with them and try to obtain some feedback. Find the weaknesses in your idea – does it actually address professional risks for practitioners? Are there ways that the idea might be improved? You can revise and re-draft until you’re happy with your entry.

But don’t be overly concerned about having the perfect solution or product. At the end of the day, it can only ever be an idea at the submission stage. It’s up to the Law Society, Lockton and RSA to develop it into the final tool for use by the profession.

3. Submit

Submitting your idea is straightforward and you can find all of the competition details and how to enter on the Law Society’s website. I’d strongly encourage you to get involved.

Entries for this year's competition are now open and close at 12 noon on 30 August 2024.