The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/1065281
When It Comes To Technolo Adoption, Your Partners Are Not Your Future B Y C H E R Y L W I L S O N G R I F F I N Over the past decade, firms have worked to trim every unnecessary expense and achieve full utilization of their professionals. As we turn towards 2019, firms continue to focus their efforts on optimizing spending, but many are beginning to realize that cost-cutting is no longer the best way to improve profitability. More than blockchain, more that AI, more than automation, firms are looking for ways to increase attorney adoption of technological investments. But, strategies for improving adoption of legal technologies remain vague at best. Which frameworks result in the best utilization of available technolo? Should adoption efforts and change initiatives be driven by IT? Or, should partners mandate change? With the emergence of technolo as a means of differentiation within the increasingly competitive legal market, firms must engage more deeply with their junior partners and senior associates to ensure future growth. When it comes to technolo adoption, your partners are not your future. This idea has absolutely nothing to do with age or generational differences. Just as many new associates as senior partners struggle with connecting to a new Wi-Fi network. Furthermore, senior partners are much less likely to be engaged in the repetitive legal research, due diligence, and document creation where the greatest technological gains are being developed. Having an intimate understanding of how the most tedious legal work is currently completed is key to understanding the business value of new technolo. It's also important to consider the value of partners' time in comparison to their more junior colleagues. As clients take more work in-house and outsource other work to alternative providers, partners must dedicate substantial time to deepening existing client relationships. Having partners sit in demonstrations, focus groups, and P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 49