Let’s explore why not implementing legal tech creates real risks and costs, why growing businesses feel the impact most acutely, and how legal technology is now essential infrastructure for scaling successfully.

Growth brings excitement – new customers, new markets, and new opportunities. But it also brings complexity. Every new contract, jurisdiction, or regulation adds pressure to the in-house legal team.

Too often, legal is overlooked when it comes to technology investment. While sales, finance, and marketing adopt tools to scale, legal is left with email and spreadsheets. The result? Legal friction – the hidden bottlenecks and inefficiencies that slow the entire business.

Legal friction is real (and expensive)

Legal friction describes the operational drag created by inefficient processes within in-house legal teams. This friction (which is caused by reliance on manual processes, fragmented workflows, multiple channels of communication, and a lack of data-driven in-house legal technology) consumes the capacity of legal, slows down service delivery, and restricts the ability of in-house lawyers to focus on strategic work.

Common examples of legal friction include:

• Contract delays: Sales deals stall because approvals or redlines sit in inboxes.
• Lack of visibility: Leadership can’t see what legal is working on or where bottlenecks occur.
• Decision-making bottlenecks: Routine work demands legal’s time, slowing higher-value strategy.

By addressing legal friction, businesses stand to unlock significant gains. And while the root cause of legal friction is procedural inefficiency, it’s a problem with a clear solution. By prioritizing investment in tech, organizations have an opportunity to up the pace and credibility of their wider businesses at the same time.

Learn more about legal friction here.

Why growing businesses feel it the most

Startups and scale-ups face rapid growth in contracts, compliance obligations, and legal requests. Yet their legal teams rarely scale at the same pace. A single GC or small team may suddenly find themselves supporting an entire global operation.

• Volume and complexity increase: More customers, more contracts, more regulations.
• Expectations rise: Business leaders want speed and efficiency, not bottlenecks.
• Risks multiply: Compliance missteps or delayed deals can impact growth targets.

As Gartner explains: “To effectively meet increased demands without exacerbating lawyer burnout and cost overruns, legal leaders must prioritize strategic cost optimization – including investments in technology solutions that scale legal services.” In other words, without tech, legal inefficiencies grow – and so does the risk of lost revenue, poor customer experience, and compliance exposure.

Legal tech as a growth enabler

Legal technology isn’t just about saving legal teams’ time. It actively fuels business momentum by:

• Accelerating sales cycles: Contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools reduce turnaround times so deals close faster.
• Streamlining requests: Intake systems provide the business with a structured “front door” to legal, reducing email chaos.
• Controlling costs: Spend and e-billing tools track external counsel spend and help manage budgets.
• Improving prioritization: Matter management systems give visibility into workload and resourcing.
• Showcasing value: Reporting dashboards turn legal data into insights for the C-suite.

Real-world example: See how The Pokémon Company’s legal team transformed their contract process with automation, cutting turnaround times and freeing legal to focus on strategy.

Before legal tech: Delays, frustration, and opacity. After adoption: Faster deals, happier stakeholders, and a stronger business partnership.

Common objections to legal tech (and why they’re outdated)

Despite the clear benefits, some misconceptions continue to hold teams back:

• “We’re too small for legal tech.” Even small teams face volume and complexity. In fact, smaller teams often benefit more because they can establish scalable systems early.
• “It’s too hard to implement.” Modern cloud-based platforms are designed for quick wins and intuitive adoption.
• “We don’t have budget.” The cost of inefficiency is often far greater than the cost of investment. Try the Legal Efficiency Savings Calculator to see the potential impact.
• “We’ll lose adoption.” With user-friendly tools and strong change management, adoption is high – especially when business users see faster results.

First steps to getting started with in-house legal tech

For growing businesses, legal tech is no longer optional. It’s the infrastructure that enables legal to keep pace with the organiszation – reducing friction, accelerating growth, and protecting against risk.

The cost of waiting is too high: revenue delays, compliance gaps, and overworked legal teams.

The sooner legal adopts purpose-built tools, the sooner the business reaps the benefits of faster, smarter, and more scalable legal operations.

If you’re ready to reduce legal friction and enable growth, start with these steps:

1. Identify where legal friction exists: Map delays, bottlenecks, and frustrations.
2. Pinpoint high-impact areas: Contracts, intake, or spend are common starting points. Tip! This tool can help you map those pain points.
3. Engage stakeholders early: Bring finance, IT, and operations into the discussion. Use this free tool to help you better align with key stakeholders.
4. Explore common tools in the legal tech stack: CLM, intake systems, and matter management often deliver the fastest ROI.
5. Link tech to business goals: Frame investment around revenue acceleration, cost control, or risk management.

Lastly, be sure to check out our legal tech guying guide! This guide will help you evaluate and select the in-house legal tech best suited to your legal function (and the wider business).