The practice of law doesn't look the same as it did 20, 10 or even five years ago. The emergence of new technologies, the transformation of legal processes and the changing global and competitive legal landscape have irrevocably altered how legal practitioners approach their jobs. Those in the know call these changes “disruptions.”

They aren't slowing down. “We're all living in a time where things are moving very fast, and you have to adapt. I think everybody's catching on to that,” said Sophie Ross, a senior managing director at FTI Consulting Inc.

In the past, said David Cohen, leader of the electronic-discovery practice at Reed Smith, many of these technologies existed in silos. Law firms, for example, handled document review, while vendors handled the emerging technologies.