The legal industry is in the midst of a profound talent and technology transformation. With funding for legal technology startups finally hitting $1 billion in 2021, legal technology is advancing at a rate faster than ever before — delivering you better solutions than ever before.

At the same time, there is a growing talent shortage due to increased competition, tighter budgets, and higher demands for a better work experience. Hiring and training new talent is extremely expensive — and with legal attrition rates at nearly 25%, your costs may be at an all-time high. How can you create a culture of retention and productivity amid this swirl of events? Our answer: modern, platform technology.

Transform your culture with technology

84% of US firms already taking advantage of legal technology and automation report a significant increase in organizational efficiency and considerable financial returns. Technology can also improve your staff’s work-life balance, which is often one of the top reasons for turnover. Here’s how:

1. Automation

Eliminate the manual work that wastes valuable time and contributes to burnout with intelligent automation. This gives your team time to focus on higher-end aspects of case management, including practicing law, determining case strategy, or preparing for trial.

By reducing these minute, repetitive tasks, you not only improve the employee experience but also business performance. Further, automation reduces the risk of human error in these manual tasks and replaces it with consistent, repeatable practices.

“…But when putting together a new workflow or process you have to consider the people who will actually be executing the work. It’s imperative that you choose a tool that’s flexible enough to accommodate the different functions and people who will be using it. That is how you drive success,” said Litify VP of Strategy & Innovation Dov Slansky in a panel about legal workflow automation.

Many legacy systems were built before automation rose to the forefront. Others may offer workflow tools, but the foundation can be dated and difficult to use, which limits the resources of who can implement it while increasing the time and costs of doing so.

2. Usability

With modern, flexible technology, the experience is tailored to the role of each user. This provides them with the specific views, tools, and information they need to do their job efficiently and effectively — while boosting team-wide adoption.

"People expect technology to work instantly, and if it doesn’t, then they don’t want it. If you download an app on your phone, if it doesn’t work instantly, you either delete it or let it sit on your home screen and never use it again. That’s another reason we like that Litify...we can leverage all the back end, all the heavy lifting they've already built, and make it stronger for our own customers and users," said the staff at Reminger Law Firm.

They're right! Your staff increasingly expects convenience, innovation, and transparency in every other aspect of their lives. They wake up in the morning to the sound of a smartphone alarm. They check their calendar for the day and skim their email inboxes before getting out of bed. They may even call a car or pre-order a coffee on their way to work. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that employees expect the same level of service and access while at work.

Finally, according to the 2024 Technology Perceptions Report, legal professionals at “tech-savvy” law firms say they are more satisfied in their jobs and more efficient at their work than those at less technology-forward firms.

3. Accessibility

When work-life balance is one of the top reasons for employee turnover, mobile access and the ability to work from home when needed are critical. With a cloud-based solution like Litify, your team can work from anywhere and even access information or documents from their phones while on the go.

The legal industry’s migration to the cloud has been a long time coming, but it’s finally here. Security has always been a top concern, but time has shown that cloud solutions are just as secure — if not more secure — as their on-premise counterparts. In fact, one of our own clients has previously experienced a company-wide data breach. But because of our strict security measures, Litify was the only system that wasn’t hacked.

Change work culture through legal innovation

You need innovative, new technology to unlock hidden efficiencies and profitability for your business, but you also need an innovative mindset and culture to make it work. In fact, according to the Litify 2023 State of AI Report, nearly 2/3 of professionals say it's important to work at an organization that embraces advanced technology.

Learning how to drive change on all these fronts is a tough job, and it’s one that probably wasn’t taught in law school. This level of leadership and innovation isn’t easy, but it can be learned, which is why we set out to produce our podcast all about Transforming the Culture of Law. Follow us there for additional strategies and insights for building a great culture and retaining talent.