When it comes to legal tech, 2020 will likely be remembered more as the Year of Adoption than the Year of Innovation. COVID-19 accelerated the use of collaboration tools, cloud technologies, video conferencing platforms and more to unforeseen heights. And even if there weren't too many more new tools on the market, it overall could be considered a positive year for innovation.

Attorneys and legal technologists see similar tidings on the horizon in 2021, pushing the trends brought on by remote work even further. Artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics remain hot topics in legal tech, with AI-enabled content generation and other tools catching more than a few eyes. Many also believe there will be an emphasis on showing value and return on investment (ROI) in the next year more than ever before. Here's what they predict we'll all be talking about over the next 12 months.

This is the fourth in a seven-part series of 2021 predictions from Legaltech News. Last week saw our 2021 predictions for e-discovery, cybersecurity and privacy. Check back tomorrow for experts' predictions for tech regulation, followed by predictions for remote work/COVID-19 and business of law/ALSPs. The quotes below are in alphabetical order by name, and some have been edited for length.