Innovating with confidence: The importance of trust

An ever-changing UK regulatory environment, macroeconomic factors, and the legal technology boom is reshaping clients’ expectations around pricing and service delivery, making profitability more difficult, and placing a greater compliance burden on law firms.  
 
In this current high-pressure market, legal technology is becoming an imperative for all law firms, regardless of scale. In our latest Legal Trends report, we found that with 31% of firms we spoke with had identified the implementation of technology as a key business objective, specifically to help meet client expectations. However, to truly reap the benefits of innovation, firms must choose the right tools for their needs and partner with a vendor that has their best interests at heart. 

Talent recruitment and retention continues to be a significant challenge too. In our Legal Trends report, we found that up to 63% of the firms we work with have moved away from their traditional working arrangements, adopting long-term hybrid models instead. Due to this, legal practitioners are no longer restricted to firms on their doorstep. With the flexibility to balance both remote and in-office work, many now prioritise more competitive benefits such as higher salaries or better work-life balance when choosing a firm. This shift can reduce the available talent pool for smaller regional firms, making it increasingly difficult to attract and retain skilled staff. 

These pressures are driving law firms to look for new ways to improve efficiency, maintain compliance and deliver the value and seamless service clients now expect. This is where I believe high quality legal technology can prove valuable and it’s exactly what we are aiming to deliver with OneAdvanced Legal.  

Shifting perspectives  

The legal market is now saturated with technology solutions promising to transform productivity and deliver the efficiency that firms have been craving. Yet, for many law firms, adopting these solutions isn’t as straightforward as it is for their larger counterparts. Smaller firms are often more restricted with their budgets, and they lack the infrastructure, resource or dedicated data & implementation teams needed to make technology adoption successful.

However, I’ve seen a real shift in mindset over the past few years, and I am finding that many law firms are becoming far more open to embracing technology. For smaller law firms, there are more affordable solutions available on the market nowadays and as the entry price points continue to become more inclusive, competition will only continue to grow. In fact, according to the latest LPM Frontiers Report, over half of legal leaders plan to increase their technology spend this year alone.  

From my perspective, there are two main types of technology buyers right now. The forward-thinking firms that recognise the value of modernising their systems and proactively invest in new solutions to improve efficiency. The second are those that are driven by necessity, perhaps because their existing systems are reaching end-of-life or they’ve become too expensive to maintain. These are the firms that often rush into decisions simply because they are under pressure to replace outdated tools. 
 
In my role, I work closely with these firms to guide and support them in choosing the right technology for their needs, ensuring that they get the best value for their investment. However, I’m always transparent with our prospective customers. If I don’t believe our solutions are the right fit, I’ll tell them so. Selling software that won’t deliver value benefits no one. In the end, it will only lead to dissatisfaction and reputational damage for us, and I’m more interested in helping firms make the best decisions for their long-term success. 
 

Building trust through partnership 

For any law firm looking to invest in technology, choosing the right partner is absolutely critical. In such a competitive market and with limited resources, firms can’t afford to get it wrong. They need to ensure their chosen solution truly fits their needs and delivers measurable value.

At OneAdvanced, we pride ourselves on our deep understanding of the legal sector and the realities of running a law firm. Many of our team members are ex-lawyers themselves, so we know what makes firms tick and we design our products with that insight in mind. We’ve spent decades working with firms of all sizes, helping them streamline their operations and build more efficient, resilient practices. The OneAdvanced Legal portfolio brings together all our key tools, from case management and time capture, to billing and reporting, alongside our proprietary AI and data capabilities. By integrating these solutions, we’re removing the burden of connecting disparate systems, allowing firms to focus on what they do best: serving their clients. 

To support the journey, we’ve also created a wealth of supporting resources, from videos to guides, data migration tools, and a dedicated customer portal to make adoption as smooth as possible. It’s important that everything we do aims to reduce any barriers so that firms get the most from their technology investment, right from the start.

Ultimately, I believe trust and transparency is the foundation of every successful partnership. Open, honest communication is essential if we’re going to deliver the right solutions and continue to evolve them based on real-world feedback. I want our customers to be our biggest fans and our biggest critics. Of course, it’s great to get feedback when we’ve done something right, but it’s also essential that they’re honest and tell us when we haven’t. That’s the only way we can continue to grow and improve together.  

The next chapter: AI and the future of legal practices

The next step in our journey is particularly exciting. We have now developed our first AI agents; file and matter quality review agents, launching in November 2025. Designed to take on the administrative burden of compliance checks and client due diligence across matters, while leaving lawyers in control to review and sign off the work. It’s a great example of how AI can enhance legal workflows without replacing the human expertise that’s at the heart of the profession. 
 
I fully expect to see a sharp rise in AI adoption across the legal sector over the next year. I think firms will continue to focus on education of capabilities and small-scale experimentation with low risk use cases for now, but by mid next year, I anticipate a real tipping point. As AI becomes more accessible and the fear of missing out grows, adoption will accelerate rapidly.

When that happens, we’ll still be here to help firms navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead by providing the tools, guidance, and foundation they need to build a future-ready legal practice.