We ask Quovant’s first SVP of innov
ation, Misty Price, to share her thoughts on what clients want from legal spend software and what she is hoping to achieve at Quovant.
Legal spend management vendor Quovant has appointed former Testan Law COO Misty Price as its first-ever senior vice president of innovation. Price’s appointment is the Nashville-headquartered company’s fifth major hire in less than five months, including two executive team members.
Price’s appointment comes as Quovant says it plans significant expansion of it’s tech enabled services approach that leverages machine learning, business intelligence and human capital to make legal spend data actionable.
In addition to her role as SVP and director of analytics for Testan Law, Price held several roles in innovation and analytics within Marsh USA.
Bill Horne, CEO of Quovant, said of Price’s appointment: “We are proud of the caliber and growth across Quovant’s leadership and of our commitment to innovation. It has always been our objective to continuously push the envelope to evolve as a company, and I know that Misty’s contributions to our innovation programs will do just that while expanding the value we deliver for many of the world’s most respected companies.”
We asked Price to share her thoughts on what clients want from legal spend software and what she is hoping to achieve at Quovant.
Legal IT Insider (LITI): Misty, what do legal counsel want first and foremost from their outside legal spend and law firm performance software?
Misty Price (MP): Increasingly the requests have moved from a focus that is limited to metrics around cycle time and median legal spend. The next level of metrics and analytics must do more to bring data to litigation management effectiveness and how to improve overall outcomes beyond that of the allocated legal spend. Performance software is going to have to integrate the attorney workflow to increase the collaboration and bring greater transparency into the moments that can change the trajectory of the file, ultimately improving outcomes in a significantly measurable way.
LITI: In your new innovation role at Quovant, where will you be looking to push the bar or make changes in the short to medium term?
MP: In the short to medium term I will be looking to take many of collaborative information and insights that are being managed with spreadsheets and forms outside of the primary systems and integrate them into a standardized database and workflow that improves the quality, standardization and trending use of those data elements. Most recently, as the Chief Operating Officer of a multijurisdictional law firm, I was frustrated that many clients requested common data via spreadsheets and managed to that style of workflow because there was no system meeting the needs in the marketplace. Working with portals, templates, and standardized but integrated information greatly improves the quality of information and reporting.
LITI: And in the long term?
MP: As someone that has worked with data my entire career, I know that building a database of data opens a world of possibilities and insights. Once you add new data and then build it over time with the ability to track, trend and benchmark, you begin to elevate the management of any program, and my experience is it is true with litigation as well.
LITI: What data and analytics does Quovant provide that helps businesses make business decisions faster?
MP: Quovant already offers a large variety of standardized and customized reports to both our legal and risk and claims clients. Both the real time metrics and the score carding, trending and benchmarking are already something we have heavily invested in over time. This is an opportunity to begin to look at that same data in new and different ways, along with the opportunity to take in new data, workflow and broader financials to expand the value and application of our reporting.
LITI: Is your role about creating new products, or services? And why?
MP: Both. Our entire value is built upon a “white glove” approach. Our innovation will be to build upon what our clients value in our products and services. To facilitate the higher collaboration and partnership with the attorneys, we need products delivered through the technology. However, the consultative interpretation and partnership that is delivered in our service model will also be a core component of our innovation.
LITI: This is Quovant’s first ‘innovation’ role – how do you ensure that innovation isn’t for innovation’s sake?
MP: Quovant’s leadership is action oriented and client focused. From my first day we were already setting meeting with existing clients and new implementation clients. Ensuring that I start by delivering directly even the first products and services in partnership with the clients will ensure that we are bringing something not only new and innovative, but needed and used by the clients. The partnership with the clients ensures this will not be done in a vacuum or as an ideal that does not work in application, but it vetted and valued from the very first deliverable to the design of the long range plans.