What Can You Do When Your Legal Tech Fails?

The use of legal technology has surged by 53% over the past year, reflecting a growing trend among legal departments to adopt innovative tools for workflow management. Enthusiasm for legal tech wanes, however, when it fails to meet expectations, according to an article by Epiq. 

Corporate legal leaders often need to struggle with the decision of whether to scale down existing technology, revamp processes, or start over with a different tool. Understanding the reasons for underperformance is crucial. Common obstacles include overly ambitious business case projections, unsatisfactory vendor implementation, and poor internal processes around the new tool.

To address these issues, a careful evaluation is necessary to determine if it is the technology that is the problem or if the implementation, documentation and training fell short. Key considerations involve reassessing business case projections, vetting vendor partnerships, and ascertaining the success of the change management process.

When deciding whether to optimize or discontinue current tools or invest in new technology, legal departments should focus on three factors: technology roadmaps, process mapping, and stakeholder engagement. 

A functional legal technology roadmap incorporating a phased timeline, enhancement capabilities, and consideration of broader technology stacks is essential. Process mapping helps identify operational gaps and opportunities for improvement, while stakeholder engagement ensures ownership, commitment, and successful integration of new solutions.

By addressing these three factors, legal departments can optimize their legal tech stack, foster a culture of informed and tech-savvy individuals, and make more strategic decisions for the future.