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IT is Dead; Long Live IT

By David B. Cunningham
August 26, 2009

There is an irony to IT in law firms: Firms spend so much time on issues like IT infrastructure and upgrade projects that they spend too little time using technology to improve how lawyers work. Law firms cannot achieve real value from their technology investments until they change this model. Moreover, changing the usual model can lower overall IT spending while increasing stability and lawyer satisfaction. With our law firm IT benchmarks reflecting that the highest spending firms spend twice as much per lawyer on technology as the lowest spending firms, there is a lot to be gained by increasing technology efficiencies.

With good leadership, streamlining IT infrastructure and rebalancing attention to IT practice technologies, law firms can have real effects on productivity and client relations.

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