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The Shift: Law Firm Tech Budgets Scrap "Next Big Thing" in Favor of the Basics

Especially after the pandemic, it's not too much of a leap in logic to picture the "Law Office of the Future," as brought to you by The Jetsons: robot receptions scanning never-ending databases of legal precedent to find the perfect evidence to take before the virtual court. To hear some tell it, these futuristic law firms are only a matter of time, the natural end of technological progression. But a closer look at law firm tech budgets tells a very different story.

Far from the promise of artificial intelligence-laden solutions, today's law firm tech budgets in reality look very, well, practical. For instance, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) found in a recent report that more than half (52%) of 229 law librarians surveyed said they didn't have an AI/machine learning initiative and had no plans to start one—up from 42% who said the same just last year. A separate report from technology provider Mitratech backs that up, finding that a relatively common technology—collaboration platforms—was legal professionals' top priority in 2021, followed by "general adoption" and use of software, as well as data privacy and security.