Despite some claims to the contrary, not all law firms want a "one-stop shop" legal tech platform. For one thing, they see it as nearly impossible for any one platform to meet the needs of every practice group or client. Instead, they expect and prefer vendors to provide third-party interoperability that expands a platform's capabilities.

While legal market trends do fluctuate, more vendors are embracing open platforms as an "access gateway" for various software in a platform, said Benesch chief information officer Jerry​ Justice.

Such integrations and interoperability are necessary because one-stop-shop legal tech platforms typically don't meet the needs of large law firms, added Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein CIO Skip Lohmeyer.