Blog Post

Progress is not just about putting new technology on desks

August 1, 2019

Nicola Stott, Exigent’s Global Managing Director, spoke to International Financial Law Review about leadership in legal, diversity and the secret to her success as a female legal leader

Exigent’s Global Managing Director, Nicola Stott, was interviewed by the Women in Business Law group (WiBL) to share her point of view on where the industry is going, both in terms of technology adoption and diversity.

In the interview, Nicola talks about her background, how Exigent was born and what the company does differently from others: “We are different also because we offer a huge range of services. At one end is pure legal administrative work, such as know-your-customer and conflict checks, and at the other, we have qualified lawyers providing deal and litigation support and various types of contract work. We also have a large data platform allowing us to draw commercial insights from our clients’ contract portfolios. Most organisations have hundreds or thousands of contracts and no way of centralising them, so we help management identify where revenue is being left on the table or where costs could be reduced.”

To the question “How will progress in technology drive better diversity in the industry?” she answered: “The legal tech space is particularly interesting. As the makeup of the workforce changes over time, largely driven by technology, the way people lead and are led will change. The reshaping of the workforce is beginning to happen already, and it’s so important to be prepared for these changes. Many lawyers, typically not the most tech-savvy people in the world, will be caught by surprise. I believe it’s not just about putting new technology on desks, but rethinking the way we lead.”

To read the full article, please visit
http://www.iflr.com/pdfs/WiblQANicolaStott.pdf