Executing Successful Product Vision:

An Interview with Karina Brandauer

Karina, what in particular do you find most fascinating about LegalTech?

LegalTech aims to simplify operations, optimize workflows, and improve the overall management of knowledge and information – plus it helps improve effectiveness. So, it basically does what I do as a Product Manager. Generally, LegalTech makes my job a lot easier and helps me save time for other more important tasks, such as building connections through human interactions, and project coordination.

Why did you decide to switch to Product Management from Communications? How did you find the transition?

Making that move wasn’t a conscious decision, I had quit my previous job and wanted to take some time off, which I did. One night, sitting in a hotel in Cambodia while travelling through Southeast Asia, I received a call from a friend who asked,” Hey, are you interested in taking my job as Product Manager at LexisNexis?” I thought to myself (and said), “Yeah, why the hell not?”
I love to be constantly learning and growing, and so this sounded like an opportunity to do just that, and it has been amazing. I do have to say however, that I could have picked a better time to start a new role. The pandemic and home office situation made it tricky to get to know my team and to fully settle into my new role, but at this point, I feel very happy and confident in my job, and I haven’t regretted the decision for one second. 

What do you think is the best way to start with document automation?

Always keep the user’s perspective in mind, and never over-complicate the automation process or the actual content. We are very lucky to work with renowned law firms that prepare the content for us and guarantee bullet-proof clauses and state-of-the-art contracts. 

What are the top three “must-have” features that companies are looking for in a document automation solution?

From what I’ve heard from our customers, the solution should
a) have an interface that is easy to integrate and intuitive to operate; 
b) be tailored to individual customer needs (e.g. in terms of layout/branding); and
c) be continually improved and further developed 

What are the 2 most important things you have learned while deploying Legito document automation?

At LexisNexis Austria, document automation and contract generation aren’t constant everyday projects, but happen rather, on an ad hoc project-by-project basis, so it could be that we have 4 contracts to automate in May and then no contracts in June or July, so for me, it is important to stay up-to-date about new features, and to continuously work with Legito to avoid losing touch or forgetting anything.

How would you describe the current state of legal tech deployment in Austria? Which industries do you think are most in need of legal tech innovations?

There are some interesting developments happening in Austria right now. I believe Austria is a traditional and rather conservative country when it comes to digital innovations. I recently read a study about the lack of legal tech-related subjects taken during legal education, and that many graduates lack digital literacy. I think students who are devoted to learning about LegalTech and acquire digital and technological skills will have a huge advantage in the job market. On the other hand, I can observe that law firms are beginning to develop their own digital tools and solutions to both acquire customers and convey a technology-savvy image. So slowly but surely, Austria’s legal field is beginning to recognize the importance of LegalTech.

Which departments do you think benefit most from document automation?

So far, our main target group has been people working in labor law, so Human Resources Managers, Payroll Accountants, and such. I believe that every person who creates contracts on a daily basis and spends too much time on repetitive and error-prone tasks can save a significant amount of time with document automation tools. Our focus is now on broadening our offering, and addressing new target groups, communicating the benefits of our solutions.

What documents do you find are automated most frequently?

Among our customers, employment contracts are automated most often. We will soon add partnership and shareholder agreements to our portfolio, and I am very excited to think how these contract types will be received by the users! 

What are your favorite type of automation projects?

In terms of content, I learn a lot while automating employment contracts or any contract related to labor law. Especially since the Covid-19 crisis and the subsequent new laws, document automation projects in that field help me keep up with the latest developments and, for example, new home office and working time agreements.

What’s your favorite Gummy Bear Flavor/ Color?

It’s the green one, also my favorite color, so it’s both the prettiest and tastiest. ?

Thank you very much, Karina!