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Leasing Technology and the Business of Law

By Marc Cram

Law firms are businesses. Law firms have, of course, always been businesses, but now more than ever, they must be conducted operationally and financially as such. Each year since the economic meltdown in 2008, the level of scrutiny and analysis of the firms' bottom lines has increased not just exponentially, but shifted paradigmatically as firms look to increase flexibility, efficiency and productivity. The 2012 Altman Weil Law Firms in Transition Survey confirms this dramatic shift in attitudes in which an overwhelming 96% of law firm leaders expect this pace of change in the profession to remain the same or accelerate, and the most successful firms will capitalize on clients' demands for greater transparency, greater value and greater levels of service.

Many law firm decision makers are turning to leasing equipment and technology as a competitively advantageous way of performing in the new business model landscape. From a financial perspective, leasing allows firms to: establish a monthly expense where the partner costs are spread out over the life of the hardware or software project; conserve their cash reserves; keep bank lines of credit open for short-term use; expense lease payments rather than depreciate equipment; avoid potential losses on the sale of equipment; and have IT proceed with projects that may exceed the firms' budgets. Combined, these benefits can translate into optimal financial and operational flexibility when the lessor involved is a trusted and strategic partner in a firm's decision-making.

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