{"id":357848,"date":"2025-08-12T17:35:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/?p=357848"},"modified":"2025-08-12T17:35:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:05:06","slug":"three-general-counsel-actions-are-key-to-improving-legal-technology-outcomes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/three-general-counsel-actions-are-key-to-improving-legal-technology-outcomes\/","title":{"rendered":"Three General Counsel Actions Are Key to Improving Legal Technology Outcomes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gartner Says Legal Departments Are Not Realizing the Full Benefits from Technology Investments<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

General counsel (GC) must take three actions to <\/span>improve legal technology outcomes<\/a>\u00a0in their departments, according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cGCs and legal leaders often have a poor understanding of what is needed for effective technology implementation and use in their functions,\u201d said\u00a0Maesea McCalpin<\/a>, Senior Principal, Research in\u00a0Gartner\u2019s Assurance Practice<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cMany are unaware of necessary workflow changes, lack a realistic view of how systems can improve workflows, do not fully grasp the obstacles to implementation and effective use, and few have plans to address these challenges.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While legal departments have seen some good results from their technology investments, a September 2024 survey by Gartner of 140 legal functions showed that most have failed to capture the full benefits (see Figure 1).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/article>\n

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Figure 1: Propensity of Legal Tech Initiatives to Meet Expected Outcomes<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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Source: Gartner (August 2025)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Digital Readiness is the Key to Better Technology ROI<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cLaying the groundwork for digital technology adoption in legal departments means ensuring digital readiness in people, processes and data,\u201d said McCalpin. \u201cJust 23% of the departments in this study achieved high scores for digital readiness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, the following nine prerequisites of a digitally ready legal team have the biggest impact on the effectiveness of technology implementations:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  • Data readiness:\u00a0<\/strong>The data necessary to get value out of the system is (1) accessible, (2) high-quality and (3) routinely improved and maintained.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Process readiness:\u00a0<\/strong>The process that incorporates the technology system is (4) standardized, (5) documented and (6) routinely followed.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • People readiness:\u00a0<\/strong>Department employees (7) know how to use the system, (8) have the necessary resources and support and (9) know their role in system implementation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n
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    Only GC Can Drive Digital Readiness<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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    Gartner has identified three actions that GC can take that have an above average impact on digital readiness. GC should emphasize these activities throughout digital initiatives:<\/span><\/p>\n
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    1. Address Employee Concerns About the System<\/strong><\/span>\n

      Only a third of legal leaders surveyed asked for employee concerns about using a technology system. Concerns can vary, ranging from worries that the system will create delays to fears that system reports will be used to over monitor employee performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u201cGC should organize listening sessions to try to resolve issues without compromising business priorities, demonstrate how leadership will use the technology and its metrics, and reinforce system use by clarifying expectations and accountability,\u201d said McCalpin.<\/span><\/li>\n

    2. Anticipate Obstacles to System Implementation
      \n<\/strong>Thirty-seven percent of legal leaders proactively sought employee input on potential barriers to system implementation, meaning the majority had missed an opportunity for quick resolution of workflow and data challenges before the introduction of the system.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u201cPotential issues include technology incompatibilities, outdated data, and inconsistent workflows,\u201d said McCalpin. \u201cIdentifying these requires a broad group of stakeholders, including IT, data staff, legal operations, system users, and business partners. GCs should establish communication channels like implementation meetings, focus groups, and reporting repositories.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n

    3. Clarify Responsibilities for Data Management
      \n<\/strong>Six key data management responsibilities throughout a technology system’s lifecycle include identifying data needs, mapping sources, addressing gaps, documenting processes, collecting data, and maintaining its quality.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u201cTo ensure these activities occur, GCs should integrate them into routine workflows by assigning responsibilities, incorporating tasks into performance reviews, emphasizing leadership’s reliance on quality data, and embedding digital competencies into advancement criteria with training opportunities. This approach ensures effective data management and accountability,\u201d said McCalpin.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Gartner Says Legal Departments Are Not Realizing the Full Benefits from Technology Investments General counsel (GC) must take three actions to improve legal technology outcomes\u00a0in their departments, according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company. \u201cGCs and legal leaders often have a poor understanding of what is needed for effective technology implementation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":214176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9231],"tags":[37474],"class_list":{"0":"post-357848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-three-general-counsel-actions-are-key-to-improving-legal-technology-outcomes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}