There are several types of legal technology available to help organizations operate more efficiently. These include technology-assisted review, contract management software, information governance solutions, and predictive coding. However, not all legal technology solutions are appropriate for every organization. A thorough review of your current and future and business needs can help you understand how legal technology can help. Choosing the right approach to legal technology can improve daily functions, strengthen client relationships, offer a competitive edge, and provide long-term financial benefits.

There are three key steps that any organization should take before determining what type of legal technology would be beneficial:

1. Clearly define your organization’s legal, discovery, and business needs

Determine what problems you face and whether a legal technology solution can help. Common issues include high discovery costs, a lack of internal resources needed to review discovery data or contracts, poor information governance infrastructure, and difficulty meeting compliance requirements.

Evaluate the effect these issues have on daily business operations and overall profits. For example, if litigation is a large component of business operations, decreasing the time and money spent on eDiscovery review should be a top priority. 

When defining business needs, evaluating current technology use is also a key component. Look at what technology your organization already uses (including legal technology) and examine the process for implementing new technology investments. After this is done, you’ll need to review and, if necessary, update any policies or decision-making procedures relating to legal technology investments.

2.    Consider if you can meet these legal technology needs internally

Perform a realistic evaluation of whether these business needs can and should be met internally, or whether using a third-party service provider would be more effective and efficient. Consider the pros and cons of internal management and whether you have a sufficient infrastructure and resources to effectively manage the program. After considering these factors, if it appears that internal management presents a financial risk or would be ineffective, then outsourcing this function would be a better option.

3.    Create a comprehensive legal technology strategy

The final step is to build a business case and create a clearly defined strategy for integrating the legal technology solution into the business. 

This business case should include the reasons for choosing the program:

• A summary of how the technology will remedy any issues and improve business operations
• An explanation of how your organization will use and administer the technology
• Cost analysis of how this addition will affect capital expenditures or operating expenditures (depending on whether the solution will be maintained internally or externally)
• Key performance indicators and expected return on investment
• The method that will be used for measuring success

Many organizations are using legal technology to cut down on expenses and improve overall efficiency. These programs can provide faster project turnaround, higher quality results, better access to information, improved data management, and critical analyses. However, it is crucial that organizations review their options carefully and choose solutions that will meet their needs. Taking the wrong approach to legal technology can waste financial resources and affect business operations. Using the tips outlined above can help you make informed decisions about legal technology and easily implement these solutions into daily business operations.