While the fundamental nature of legal work has remained consistent throughout recent history, the processes, pace, and scale of practice have evolved dramatically.
The bulk of transactional and litigation work is performed by lawyers, who are often resistant to utilising automation for legal work. Yet, firms are relatively small organisations, especially compared to entities like banks, and there is a perceived need for lawyers to “keep up” by adopting technology at a comparative rate.
The motivation for tech adoption differs depending on the size of the firm. Large firms tend to approach technology from the perspective of future-proofing their organisation, as well as impressing clients. Technology can help to improve a larger firm's prestige, which can enhance their ability to successfully bid for client work.
In comparison, smaller firms tend to focus their use of technology to cut their non-billable administrative workload, and to expand the volume of clients they are able to take on. In both cases, adoption is treated cautiously, with firms preferring vendors who can provide a ringfenced environment for their firm and client data.
Notably, when smaller firms adopt legal tech, they benefit from far shorter procurement cycles compared to their larger competitors. This is partly because legal vendors tend to lock large partners into multi-year contracts, handcuffing them to a specific innovation cycle, whilst the wider tech landscape moves on.
Larger firms often segment work for a single client across multiple lawyers, while smaller practices usually keep matters with one owner. That tighter ownership makes it easier for one person to understand the entire workflow and spot holistic improvements.
Ultimately, tech adoption is still contested: many lawyers resist seeing themselves as process designers, are skeptical or exhausted by tech, and the traditional billing model reduces the incentive to streamline billable work. Regardless, we are at a point in time where practitioners can extract more value from investing in their technology than ever before. Smaller firms, with shorter workflows, closer client contact, and greater autonomy, have the most potential to amplify their practice by embracing legal tech.