The spending tap has been turned on. Released today, "The 2021 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer" report found that a significant number of law firms and corporate legal departments are planning to increase their technology investments. But while legal professionals may be excited about tools like document and contract management solutions, there's still some lingering confusion around tech related to Big Data and predictive analytics.

The report, which solicited input from 700 legal professionals spread across the United States and nine European countries, found that many attorneys are no longer dragging their feet on the subject of technology adoption. Among legal department respondents, for instance, 57% indicated that they will increase their technology investment over the next three years up from 51% who said the same in 2020.

Driving that adoption is likely the combination of increased workloads paired with an expectation for in-house teams to accomplish more with less. Dean Sonderegger, head of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., noted there's typically an "open checkbook" for matters such as bankruptcy proceedings or bet the company litigation.