The business models of traditional legal practices, including the partnership and billable hours model have existed for centuries. They have rigid and comprehensive frameworks in place to deal with issues of compliance and liability. However, although the legal sector might still trust and rely on these trustworthy but slow ways of doing things, increasingly technologically sophisticated and efficient clients are demanding more. 

The exciting advancements in legal technology mean that law firms have solutions readily available to meet their client’s greater pressure on costs and speed. The problem is that they are slow to adopt these new solutions. But, keep reading to find out how legal technology adoption can be encouraged! 

Why so slow? 

For starters, the sheer volume of available technology makes researching, trialing and choosing the right ones very time consuming. Then, a lawyer’s worst nightmare is a negligence claim so many of them continue to perform the work alongside the technology, which is obviously inefficient. Finally, the legal sector has been resistant to change in the past due to the lack of need; as Heidi Smith puts it, ‘the burning platform in the legal profession is just a camp fire.’ The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic might well be the enabler many legal technologists have been waiting for! 

Ways to enable adoption 

1. Focus on a marketing strategy from the get-go! 

As change management specialist Heidi Smith says, “a product is only 50% of its success, the other half is marketing and selling it”. So, whether a legal tech product is developed in-house or by a startup, nailing the marketing strategy from the start is crucial. In order to secure management buy-in and convince users to embed the product into their work processes, the following is need: 

  • Crystal clear messaging – what problem is the product solving and how?
  •  A killer product launch
  • An identifiable target client list
  •  A robust selling strategy
  • Strong communication

2. Leveraging the principles of Behavioural Science

Behavioural Sciences shows that we may be less rational and objective when it comes to our decision making than we might think. So, in terms of adopting new technologies, logical explanations of their benefits might not do the trick. Instead, Heidi Smith has used her knowledge of behavioural science to induce the take-up of technology with her colleagues. She knows people respond to their ego and status being challenged; she knows that people fear missing out; and she knows that people respond to instant gratification. 

Find out how she uses that knowledge to encourage the adoption of legal technology in the podcast here!

The Wired Wig explains helps to plug in Digital and Technology Law into businesses. It explains technology concepts and informs business leaders and students how the Law could respond to innovation.

The podcast is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and other podcast providers found on Anchor.