What Firms Are Thinking When Buying Legal Tech

The way enterprise buyers select and adopt technology has dramatically changed over the past five years. Tactics that used to work fall flat today. Buyers do their research, talk to colleagues, and check references—all before they even speak to a vendor. As a result, we need to treat buyers differently today, acknowledging their understanding and using selling opportunities to learn more about their goals and how to align with those goals. They know their WHY and have a good idea of the WHAT—cut to the chase and dive into the HOWs.

For legal tech vendors and investors, genuinely understanding how law firms approach buying and deploying technology is essential for building a successful company.

In my previous articles, “Legal Tech Marketing” and “Navigating the Complexities of Selling Legal Tech,” I covered how law firms operate in a uniquely complex environment where every decision is influenced by a blend of risk management, regulatory compliance, and the need for proven ROI.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the minds of potential clients with a checklist that reveals what law firms consider when they evaluate new tech solutions.

✅ Does This Solve the Problem I’m Facing, or Is the Vendor Defining the Problem for Me?

“Is this technology truly addressing a pain point we’ve identified, or is the vendor trying to convince us that we have a problem we didn’t know existed?”

✅ Is This a Must-Have or a Nice-to-Have?

“Does this technology address a critical need? Will it impact our bottom line by increasing profits, reducing costs, or mitigating risk?”

With so many AI solutions emerging in legal tech every week, embrace the enthusiasm, curiosity, and exploratory budgets and turn those into lasting opportunities. Show how your innovation will become part of the firm’s workflow and create a path for expansion within that account.

✅ Who Else is Using This?

“We’re risk-averse. We want to know which of our peers have vetted this product. Proven expertise and trusted references are key.”

Preemptively offer case studies and curated references you’ve done with other firms. Ensure they are short, clearly explain the benefits, strip out ALL the fluff, and cut the BS. Be respectful to your buyers—they don’t have time to read through 80% of empty buzzwords in your study.

✅ How Does This Fit Into Our Existing Ecosystem?

“Can this solution integrate smoothly with our current systems? How will it affect our workflows, and will it require significant changes or training?”

I can’t stress this enough for anyone in the industry. Firms operate in a tightly integrated environment. They are client-matter-centric because almost everything they do is a service for a client matter (whether billable or not). Let’s call it the firm’s application backbone. As a result, point solutions need to communicate with their backbone datasets instead of creating redundant ones.

✅ Who’s Going to Champion This Internally?

“Who within our firm will advocate for this solution? Do they have the influence to drive adoption across teams?”

If you don’t have a champion, you don’t have a sale. Period! Earn the trust of your champion by being candid and honest about what your solution can and cannot do. Make your champion look good. It’ll pay off big time.

✅ What’s the ROI Timeline?

“How quickly will we see a return on investment? Can this technology deliver measurable results in a reasonable timeframe?”

A managing partner of a large law firm once told me: “Gaby, if I put together all the ROI calculators from all the vendors, they’d save me so much time that I’d never have to work again.” Case in point: be thorough when you build an ROI for the firm and the user persona it’s for. You might think it’s trivial, but most ROIs I’ve seen are reduced to #hours saved * $rate * #timekeepers. I know, easier said than done! Work with your champion at the firm to nail down an effective ROI.

✅ Does This Meet Our Security and Compliance Standards?

“Data security and compliance are non-negotiable. Does this tech adhere to our strict regulatory requirements?”

For early-stage companies, it’s hard to have all that on day one. Nonetheless, it’s never too early to start working on it. For all companies, regardless of the stage, create your solution’s “compliance-in-a-box.” This “box” should include all materials, documentation, security questionnaires, references, checklists, and other resources buyers can access quickly and autonomously. You’ll be surprised how fast your diligence process will move. And, of course, keep it up-to-date.

✅ How Flexible is the Pricing?

“Can this product scale with us as our needs evolve? Is the pricing model flexible enough to accommodate growth or downturns?”

Okay. This is complicated, and I have so much to share on pricing and managing expectations that I’ll write a series of posts about it. Stay tuned!

✅ What’s the Vendor’s Track Record?

“Does this vendor have a history of successful implementations? Are they reliable and responsive when issues arise?”

It goes back to building and earning trust again. Be open about your capabilities and use past implementation challenges to learn and fix them quickly. The key here? Have an off-the-charts customer success and support team that is adequately trained to delight your customers. Do not settle for less than excellence! In the early stages, founders will need to get their hands dirty and hear the voice of the customer.

✅ What’s the Implementation and Change Management Plan?

“Do we fully understand what it will take to implement this solution? How will it impact our teams, and do we have a clear plan for managing the change?”

Clarity and managing expectations is the name of the game here. Clarity means codifying and sharing your “implementation-in-a-box,” a beautifully crafted centralized repository of all the resources they need. My advice? Make them visual and simply worded. Remove all the BS and delight your users with what they need. And ensure users can contact you quickly.

✅ What’s the Long-Term Support and Innovation Plan?

“Will this vendor continue to innovate and improve their product? What kind of ongoing support and updates can we expect to ensure the technology evolves with our needs?”

Selling to law firms is all about partnership building and becoming a trusted advisor to them via your product and service. Share your roadmap and release schedule with the firm in advance to seek alignment with the firm’s strategic planning.

💡 This checklist is essential for anyone looking to succeed in the legal tech space. Understanding these concerns and addressing them head-on will not only help you win business but also build lasting partnerships with law firms.

If you’re serious about selling legal tech, ensure these items are on your radar—they’re the keys to closing deals and driving long-term success.

Please feel free to reach out and comment, and if you enjoy this content, consider subscribing so you don’t miss future posts on these topics. Visit our website, BUILDLEGALTECH.com, to read more.