Why Law Firms Reject Innovation and How Ted Theodoropoulos Is Making Change Happen

Quotes:

• "There's been a lot of innovation theater in legal where innovation titles were handed out, but firms weren't fully committed to innovating, especially at a foundational level. Until you've got buy-in at the top, which is now starting to happen because AI has really forced their hand.” 

• "The reason that law firms are so resistant to change and tech adoption is the bespoke nature of legal work. It's historically been an artisan craft. You can take lawyers in the same firm, in the same practice, and they are going to do things completely differently, with their own precedent documents that they use as starting points. They have their own little org structure, how they leverage paralegals, their own processes, how they engage with clients."

• "I always say, law firms don't buy tech - they buy social proof. You have to build that book of social proof before you'll really get at-bats with the biggest firms. Most vendors have to work their way up the ladder incrementally and eat table scraps in the beginning until they build. And you have to build that book of social proof before you'll really get at bats with the biggest firms."

• "Buying the tech is the easy part. It's the change management discipline that has to come along with the tech that is going to ultimately determine whether something becomes shelfware or generates great ROI for the firm.”

• "I think the number one attribute is focus. Vendors who come into this space with a horizontal focus don't do well, it's the ones who jump all in because that legal resume is so important. If you're in it long enough and become a student of the industry, you become an advisor beyond just whatever it is your technology does.”