Here is my draft working paper on Gamification in Law Firms which looks at the use of gamification in law firms to increase productivity and collaboration, among other benefits. This paper provides a framework for approaching implementation of a gamification strategy within the law firm.
For this paper I had fun researching in the fields of psychology, sociology, education, game design and development, behavioral science, marketing, human-computer interaction (HCI) and a little neuroscience. This paper provides a background on gamification, including the science behind why it works, and then looks at how law firms could apply gamification for different purposes within the firm.
The second half of the paper actually provides a map for a law firm to design a gamification strategy and move forward with experimenting with this in the firm. I have many case studies of different forms of gamification at companies and even a small handful of law firms that have experimented with gamification and had success.
Some of the objectives for the use of gamification in law firms might be:
1. Increased associate retention rates,
2. Efficient and effective training of new technologies and processes, including methods to improve associate recording of billable hours,
3. Human resources productivity, such as onboarding new associates, training new hires, collecting associate reviews, etc.,
4. Increased communication between members of the firm,
5. Encourage inter-generational mentorship,
6. Increased participation in pro bono activities,
7. Desired use of firm resources, such as training and education,
8. Encouragement for individual law firm members to innovate for the benefit of the firm.
Please note that this paper is a work in progress. I am currently working on a paper related to gamification for access to justice and with client-facing applications that focuses more broadly on increasing online engagement between lawyers and the public. I’ve found some great, fairly recent, empirical studies for that paper that I may go back and add to the analysis in this one for law firms. Stay tuned.
Here is a working paper I wrote that looks at ways to increase online engagement between the public and legal professionals using gamification for the purpose of increasing access to justice. This is the last of the research and writing I have produced this year during my Stanford Law Fellowship. I hope someone out there takes this research and the case studies and puts the information to good use. The working paper will be refined and become part of a white paper series for the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services later in the year. I am open to suggestions and collecting other case studies for this paper.