More corporate legal departments are buying legal technology, such as contract life cycle management tools. But is anyone telling the information technology department? Consultants say it's still fairly common for IT departments to be left in the dark during the legal tech selection process. But the emergence of legal ops and other evolving business norms are forcing IT and legal to work closely together.

HBR Consulting advisory managing director Marc Allen noted the merging of the legal and general tech budget is one factor pushing IT to have a larger say in legal tech decisions. As legal tech licensing and maintenance fees are taken from their shared budget, he noted, IT is becoming more involved in legal tech selection.

Additionally, legal operation professionals are also spearheading greater collaboration between the legal and IT departments, Allen said. And if IT isn't available or capable of supporting legal tech, legal ops is also outsourcing legal tech management, he added.