It's likely you've come across it so much, you don't even it notice anymore. It's on websites, at conferences, and even thrown into conversations, almost reflexively. Blink and you might miss it, but it's not ever gone for too long.

No, it's not anything spooky or nefarious—just perhaps outdated. It's how ALSPs define their arsenal of legal technology, or how legal tech companies describe their products: "best in breed," "best in class" or some variation thereof.

Despite these terms' omnipresence, they may not be all that convincing. "I'm sitting here as a chief technologist type and I see that… that doesn't mean a lot to me. I still want to talk to the company and see their demo, talk to others, and get impression of the product reviews," said Kenneth Jones, chief technologist at Tanenbaum Keale.