In this week's Law Firm Disrupted, we analyze a survey of Big Law associates and find that law firms are close to Luddites in the minds of their youngest lawyers.

I'm Roy Strom, the author of this weekly briefing on the changing market for legal services. My Hotmail is down, but you can still reach me here: [email protected].

My colleagues at The American Lawyer released this week their annual report on Midlevel Associates.

The resulting stories have concluded that millennials are “content but curious;” that providing up-to-date technology can help you climb the rankings; and that women and minority associates are less satisfied than their predominantly white, male peers. Quite a bit to chew on.

Still, I got my hands on the more than 4,200 open-ended responses that associates submitted for the survey. I have written a lot about how firms need associates to be leaders in rethinking the delivery of legal services. So I was interested in seeing what the associates had to say, as a group, about the state of technology and the billable hour at their firms.

First, a few words on the “data” behind this column. The open-ended portion of the survey is not that scientific. Some 4,200 associates were asked six questions, ranging from why they were satisfied or not to what they feel is the biggest threat to their job. Some answered all the questions; others none; most were somewhere in between. Some wrote one-word answers. Others, usually the frustrated, expounded.

I have done my best to analyze the answers to see what the most common responses are. This isn't a scientific analysis. It's more like a window into the foremost thoughts on an associate's mind in any given day. Probably something similar to what they would tell a therapist about their jobs (if they had time for that).

The biggest surprise to me was the number of associates who view “automation” as a threat to their job.

More associates listed automation or “artificial intelligence” as a threat to their current role than the economy or a recession. Of the 1,764 who responded to the question about what threatens their jobs, 242 (about 14 percent) said “automation” or “artificial intelligence,” while 203 (11.5 percent) said “economy” or “recession.” (Three respondents said “robots,” but detecting sarcasm on a written answer sheet can be difficult.)

“Blockchain and clever machine-learning software could do 60-80 percent of my billable hours,” another associate said.

“As more firms turn to automation,” another associate wrote, “there is a less of a need for younger attorneys to do the first draft of a document and learn the basics.”

“The Big Law pie is going to continue to shrink due to the rise of ALSPs and increased automation,” a concerned associate cautioned. “There will be decreased demand for associates moving forward. This is coming faster than anyone realizes.”

There was a broader disconnect on the technology front, though. Most associates were not asking their firms to invest in automation or artificial intelligence. Often, as The American Lawyer's Ben Seal pointed out, they are asking for much more basic technology upgrades.

Asked how law firms could better retain associates, only 12 of the 1,905 responses were related to technology—most frequently asking to work from home. Still, there were indicators that firms still have a long way to go to be considered forward-thinking when it comes to technology.

When asked what advice they would give their managing partners, 47 of the 1,902 responses were simple: Upgrade the technology.

“Call forwarding and other technology upgrades would do a lot for improving associate life,” one associate wrote. (Call forwarding was invented in the 1960s.)

“Improve technology. Citrix does not work,” an associate complained.

“We're still using Windows 7, which was released almost 10 years ago,” another associate said.

Paul Ward, who consults on law firm innovation as a principal at Innovation Playbook, said he sees plenty of law firms that invest in new types of legal service technology—such as automated contract review—but who also struggle to update what he calls “KTBR” software (keep-the-business-running).

“I've been in firms that have [innovation] labs and then are still on the oldest version of Windows you can be on and still be relevant. It's quite the dichotomy,” Ward said.

He said firms often view investing in innovation and investing in standard technology through the same lens: saving money.

“A lot of firms look at AI as something you would use in a small application to gain a significant competitive advantage. And then they also look at KTBR – keep the business running – technology as: What is the least we can spend?” Ward said. “Firms haven't really made the cognitive leap of realizing that maybe we should improve technology across the board and give associates these basic tools.”

The important message associates are sending their firms is that technology should not be viewed as a place to save money. It should be viewed as a way to boost associate production and morale. If firms can't figure out call forwarding or reliably update their version of Windows, it's hard to envision them having success implementing the next wave of technology.

Roy's Reading Corner

On Tech Adoption: Above The Law this week reported on an initiative at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati that will pay up to $100,000 in “travel awards” to lawyers who adopt new technologies. An internal memo obtained by ATL said the firm had previously struggled to achieve widespread adoption of new “practice technologies.” In an attempt to solve that problem, the firm and its new corporate strategic innovation counsel David Wang are asking lawyers to suggest new tools that can be implemented immediately. If they hit certain adoption targets during a six-month trial period, the firm will pay out the travel bonuses. As ATL's Joe Patrice said, it's an idea worth copying.

On New Associate Roles: London-based legal giant Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is looking for associates to join its Legal Solutions Hub in the U.K. The Hub is part of the Magic Circle firm's broader low-cost Legal Services Center, where it handles global due diligence, document reviews and other more repeatable tasks. If the associate survey is any indication, plenty of U.S. associates would likely be interested in joining such a place. One of the most common responses associates offered when asked what they would change about their firm is to lower their billable hour requirement. Lower billable hours were requested by 9 percent of respondents. Many said they would be happy accepting lower pay in a non-partner track position.

One associate described what they called “Big Law 2.0” this way: “More control on billable hours in relation to pay, more incentives for associate business development (by providing financial incentives), more flexible working arrangements, designated systems for time off and vacations.”

That's it for this week! I'm headed to Hurricane Alley in a few days, so The Law Firm Disrupted will return the second week of September. Thanks again for reading, and please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. Sign up here to receive The Law Firm Disrupted as a weekly email.