The MAPD Group (Making a Positive Difference) currently consists of ten different brands spread across England, each maintaining its unique branding and identity while being supported by the core team at the MAPD Engine Room. The broad mission is to power the growth of law firms nationally. The MAPD Group took ownership of Myers & Co, a small law firm based in Stoke-on-Trent, in 2022.
The Challenge
Myers & Co solicitors, part of the MAPD Group, wanted both solicitors and support staff to be able to tap into the potential of large language models and generative machine learning. As the technology had not been used before, there was a desire to find a way to trial and develop use-cases for large language models and generative machine learning.
The Solution
Microsoft Copilot was selected as a general-purpose technology that could be trialled across a range of work tasks. The first step was to upgrade the hardware (laptops) and software (Windows 11) for all staff. Subsequently, licenses for Microsoft Copilot were purchased for all staff, making the solution available on everyone’s desktop.
The TiPS Project
All solicitors and support staff at Myers & Co. were given access to Microsoft Copilot. There was encouragement to experiment with the technology to identify use cases in day-to-day work, and training and feedback sessions to support staff to get the most from the tool.
Over several months, the approach to assisting solicitors and support staff to use the technology evolved based on lessons learned. Introductory sessions were used to explain the intention of the project – to identify opportunities to improve productivity, client service and staff experience, not to replace people! Examples of how Microsoft Copilot might be used were provided, as well as tips about how to design prompts in a way that maximises the chance of a useful response.
Most importantly, solicitors and support staff were given bespoke training. Opportunities were created to sit with an experienced Microsoft Copilot user who could help an individual use the technology in a particular task. This support helped to identify appropriate use cases as well as the limits of the technology and ways of prompting the technology that were adapted to the needs of the individual. The training also allowed the identification and dissemination of best practices.
As with any large language model and generative machine learning, safety rails were put in place to ensure everyone understood how to use the technology in a secure way. Staff were actively encouraged to use it with sensitive data because all the data is contained in the tenant within Microsoft’s environment, meaning that all data is secure.
Key Lessons
Communicate, communicate and communicate some more. Reassuring people about the purpose of a project is crucial for successful engagement. This is particularly true when using generative machine learning solutions, which many people associate with job replacement. At Myers & Co., productivity and time saving were only one part of the opportunity identified when adopting Microsoft Copilot. Equally important were opportunities to improve and innovate in client service and to provide staff with a better work experience by using technology to deal with tedious and frustrating tasks. Communicating honestly about all of the potential reasons for adopting a new technology is crucial so that key stakeholders understand why they should dedicate time to learning about and trialling a new technology. Open communication and addressing difficult questions like ‘will it replace my job’ also creates an environment in which trial and error is encouraged and honest evaluation of a technology occurs.
Understand the project and use it to enhance engagement with technology. Technology adoption projects need to be well planned. But they also need to create a space for experimentation, trialling and learning. This means the outcome of a project cannot always be planned, particularly when a technology is very new and use cases are varied. Sometimes it is important to allow the adoption process to determine how a technology is used and to identify the benefits that can be gained. At Myers & Co. a carefully structured adoption plan created a framework for people to experiment and learn. Good evaluation of the benefits is crucial in such approaches – something achieved at Myers & Co through a constant process of reflecting on how Microsoft Copilot was being used, what worked, what didn’t work and what could be tried next.
Engage everyone, including the critics, through effective training. A crucial way to engage everyone with a technology adoption project is through training. It is easy to assume that everyone can quickly work out how to use a new technology when it appears on their desktop or mobile device. But to get the most from a new technology, most people need some initial help and guidance. Often, the instinctive reaction is to run a training session, record a demo video or send out some instructions. At Myers & Co., we saw the power of a much more practical approach to training: sit down with people and help them to use the technology as part of their work. Everyone will have different needs because of their role or level of experience with technology. By sitting down with an individual, it is possible to demonstrate how to effectively use the technology for a specific task. It also avoids the frustration of an individual trying a technology on their own, getting stuck or getting a sub-standard output, and then giving up. An experienced user can demonstrate how to use the technology effectively, such as designing precise prompts for Microsoft Copilot, how to avoid common problems, and how to adapt the technology to specific tasks. Once someone has learned how to use a new technology effectively for one task, they are then more likely to be able to trial it in another task.
Enhance approaches to innovation. Developing a framework for trialling Microsoft Copilot has provided the capability and capacity to try other solutions. Based on lessons learned about how to trial and evaluate new solutions, several other large language models and generative machine learning technologies have been trialled at Myers & Co. Staff now have both the skills needed to trial such technologies, but also the confidence and framework to evaluate them and make decisions about what to adopt in the future.
Results
The TiPS project demonstrates how newly emerging technologies can be quickly trialled and adopted if a suitable project framework is put in place. By communicating, creating an environment that encouraged experimentation, offering suitable training and putting safety rails in place, Myers & Co were able to evaluate the potential efficiency, innovation and staff experience benefits of Microsoft Copilot. They are now also able to quickly respond to and evaluate other new technologies through a structured framework for experimentation.
Testimonials
“Just having access to this cohort and community of people who have various experiences at different parts of their project, some of them using similar technology, some of them doing completely different things. It’s just really good to learn from them and understand and see where they’re coming into challenges. And it’s also somewhat comforting to see that they run into very similar challenges as us and see how they get through it so we can share that learning.” – Keane Tan, MAPD Group
Watch the video case study below:
Part One
Part Two