You can't hide from technology any longer. The world has changed, and it's not going back to the “good old days.” Electronic data is everywhere, and when it comes to the legal industry that's where you find the facts. A lawyer that has a command of the facts has a great advantage over a lawyer that does not. Technology has become necessary, not optional, condition of serving a client's needs. Whether investigations, litigations or regulatory inquiries, you still need to know what the facts are and oftentimes the facts lie in the electronic data, which is data residing in a computer. (Just for clarity I don't mean physically in the computer; I mean electronically).

Place this against a backdrop of a near global meltdown and recession that changed the legal industry forever. Now more than ever, clients are holding law firms accountable for their outcomes and for the value received from their services. In my meetings with some of the top tier law firms, I often hear the concern around how partners can differentiate themselves to the client. I've heard stories where the client says, “If some other top tier firm can do it cheaper, I might as well go with them as you're all smart people.” This doesn't seem to be a set of isolated incidents. Major clients are re-negotiating rates with their law firms and using their buying power and the threat of taking their business elsewhere to bring down legal costs. So how can a law firm deal with such an uncertain, pressure-filled environment?

It seems to me that it's all about leveraging the intellectual horsepower of the lawyers and the firm. Leverage is key here, and technology is how you leverage it. We've all heard the old adage, “Work smarter, not harder.” In this case, it's even more relevant than ever. With technology, it's now possible to help a human perform a task at 10 to sometimes 100 times the speed of doing it manually. No matter how hard you work, you will never beat a human and a machine working together. Have you ever tried to race someone on a bike when you're on foot? I have, and I'm a pretty decent runner. The bike wins every time. Leverage is the key to winning in this economy, and technology is what gives you this power.