Drafting a Business Case for Legal Technology 

As we approach the end of the year, pressure to secure and plan legal budgets rises. Any forward-thinking legal professional knows the importance of implementing tech solutions that streamline your daily workflows. However, evolving your team’s budget to meet these pressing needs is uniquely complicated.

The Value of Technology 

Historically, technology hasn’t played as significant a role in legal operations as we’ve seen in other industries. However, with the world’s sudden shift to remote work and the ease of technology setting expectations of instant accessibility, our traditional industry is changing. In fact, in “The Future of Legal,” Gartner urges firms and in-house teams to adopt a technology plan by 2021 if they wish to remain profitable as the industry changes.

Legal professionals are jumping on solutions that streamline all aspects of legal operations, including docketing software, financial software, and entity management software. But for those who have yet to take the technology leap, understanding how to position your needs and secure the needed budget changes is new territory. 

Drafting a Business Case: Best Practices

1. Understand your pain points. Before you begin drafting your business case, clearly outline the challenges you face and how they hinder productivity for your team and the business overall. 
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2. Meet each point with a solution. Thoroughly overview your solution’s value proposition, and touch on the specific solutions for each pain point or need. 
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3. Define your team. Ensure that you have a clear outline of who will engage with the software and how. This includes day-to-day users, administrators, project managers, etc. Elaborate on the type of access this person will have and how each user plays a role in solving the need.
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4. Use metrics when positioning return on investment. Be transparent with upfront costs and projected results. Whether referring to monetary ROI or invested time, use specific and accurate numbers, and explain how these benefits will affect the company at large.

5. Outline the risks. Transparency is critical to your value proposition. Be accurate and informative about potential risks and security plans for managing them. 
   

Want to Learn More?

For more information on drafting a business case, you can access our free webinar, How to Secure a Budget for Legal Technology, where industry experts provide a business case template, discuss the intricacies of budget planning, overview what to prioritize in terms of financial investment, and unlock best practices for explaining ROI in both cost and time. 

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