Often, the most successful innovations are evolutions of existing ideas, rather than reinventions of the mousetrap.  For example, this 1883 reinvention of the mousetrap did not catch on.

A great example of game-changing, evolutionary innovation came in 2008 when Plum invented the “Baby Food Pouch.” They merged Gerber’s individually jarred baby food (invented 1927) and the Capri Sun juice pouch (invented 1969) to create one of the greatest inventions ever designed. (As the father an 18-month old, I stand by that statement.)

I will not spend time bemoaning the slow adoption of LegalTech in the world of litigation… wait, I guess I just did.  I know it’s easy to complain, but it does no good to blame the customer for not buying the product.   Instead, as the psychology-guy who lives in the world of law, I’m much more interested in the “Why.”

Legal Technophobia is a real thing… I Googled it AND I see it in Twitter feeds. ‘Nuff said.  It seems to be rooted in lawyers through a few clearly reasonable thought processes:

1. By nature, those in the legal field are risk-averse (according to research and anecdotal evidence).  In fact, this is an attribute most people want in their lawyers.
2. People are making a lot of money doing it the way they’ve always done it.
3. Many LegalTech advances are completely new animals, not evolutions of established species.
4. The value-add that some LegalTech innovations are delivering does not outweigh some of the following:
   1. The cost of the LegalTech.
   2. The time and effort it will take to learn, understand, pitch and implement the new LegalTech.
   3. The natural cognitive biases that all humans have when making big decisions: Risk Aversion, Prospect Theory and Loss Aversion, Confirmation Bias, etc.

Maybe I should just stop writing now and go wallow in a dark room with a pile of sin tax products?
No! I will maintain hope and tell you why.

While the law has a string of speed bumps in its road to innovation… many other sectors of the world do not.  How many old-school lawyers fought digital documents? And email? And texting? And doing business through smart phones?
INMHO (In My Humble Opinion-  if any old-school lawyers are reading this), Legal Technophobia will be conquered by gradual innovations in our clients’ non-legal lives that sneakily open lawyer eyes to the valuable possibilities LegalTech holds.

In this vein, I offer the following suggestions to my fellow LegalTech entrepreneurs:

1. Focus on being relatable. We must frame our innovation as an evolution of what already exists to our clients in their professional and/or personal lives.  “New” is scary. “Better” is intriguing.
2. Promote your fellow LegalTech entrepreneurs.  We need to demonstrate a wave has already arrived and nostalgia for past methods will not stop it.  Nobody (including our clients) wants to be the last one to the party.
3. We must tell stories of what our LegalTech HAS done, as opposed to what our LegalTech COULD do.  (If you have a start-up with a short track record.  Ignore this one.  I intimately know your pain.  Just keep chugging and keep your head up.)
4. Finally, we must truly understand the “Curse of Knowledge.”  When you’ve been neck-deep in something for years, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to view it as someone who is learning about it for the first time.  This is a psychological fact.  Too often, we in the LegalTech world talk to outsiders as if they are insiders (culminating in an overwhelming amount of confusion).  The resulting response is obvious… wariness of the unknown (caveat incognitum).

 

It's hard to admit, but the legal industry is the lonely caboose at the rear of the tech train.  I’ve often said that if you put a 19th century surgeon in a 21st century operating room, the poor soul would run out the door screaming “WITCHES! They’re all witches!” However, if you stuck a 19th century attorney in a 21st century courtroom, the intrepid counsel would simply ask for the latest case law and get to work.

Industries ranging from furniture production to public safety to adult “entertainment” have embraced the efficiency, accuracy and productivity of technological innovation.  Yet, when it comes to the legal world, we see 10 deep scratch marks in a mahogany conference table where an old school lawyer’s fingernails have tightly grasped tradition.

Why So Slow?
I submit a theory of three primary culprits which are inhibiting legal innovation:

• BRAIN GLITCHES: Also known as cognitive biases, these are little “evolutionary lies” our brains whisper to us to make life easier and maintain order in our world. 
• For example, Confirmation Bias puts blinders on us all and suggests we absorb only those facts that back-up our previously-held beliefs.  New information that challenges those beliefs is quickly dismissed without inquiry or flatly ignored.  Does that sound like someone you know's political views?  They think the same about you.
• (There are about 50 other cognitive biases I could list that influence legal decision-making.  If you want to learn how to minimize them OR use them against your foes, reach out to me about a seminar I teach.)

 

• BUGGIES: We all have horse-and-buggy techniques that we keep because they are familiar and get the job done.  The automobile was cool when first introduced, but most people asked “What’s wrong with my trusty steed Gertrude? She gets me there... eventually.”  
• In-house and outside counsel are trapped in a system that has supported Big-Buggy for generations.  Suggesting change can often be viewed as an indictment of past methods (a.k.a. how your boss did it), rather than embracing new innovations. 
• This defensiveness increases resistance and makes people think twice about advocating for new techniques.

 

• BILLABLE HOURS:  If you charge by the hour, basic capitalism suggests that fewer hours is a bad thing.  This is hard to get around.  Certainly, Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs) and the ACC Value Challenge have pushed the conversation, but the billable hour is the system..
• The only solution to fear, is fear itself.  (Sorry, Winston Churchill.)  The best chance for LegalTech to overcome the hourly paradox is to flip the script and get CLIENTS to value technological innovation in law and choose practitioners based on their use of it. 
• Remember, good legal advice will always be very, very valuable.

POTENTIAL ENERGY: I Could'a Been a Contender.
Q: What’s another word for an unexploded bomb?  A: A paperweight. 

Sure, a bomb COULD blow you to smithereens.  However, it sits as potential energy. LegalTech could permanently alter the world of law as we know it, but we only see broad-based adoption in few precious areas (e-discovery, billing management,… did I mention e-discovery?).

When it comes to LegalTech adoption, decision-makers are often caught in a frozen state.  Even if they are enthusiastic supporters of change, the bureaucracy around them blows the cold wind of resistance.  Who wants to stick their neck out for “efficiency”? (Not a very sexy cause célèbre.)

KINETIC ENERGY: Like a Rolling Stone.
Depressed yet?  Well, turn those frowns upside down.  In the immortal words of Bluto from Animal House, “Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!”

While an object at rest tends to stay at rest, it’s hard to deny that the LegalTech rock has begun to roll.  We see new conferences, organizations, products and technology.  We see entire sections of publications devoted to legal innovation.
We see buzz.  The great thing about buzz, is that it creates an invisible social pressure called FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out, as the kids say).  This brings me to this CALL TO ACTION, dear reader…

Help your fellow LegalTech entrepreneurs by building their buzz too.  To keep this ball rolling, we need adoption of innovative ideas across the legal spectrum.  The veneer has been cracked, but all sorts of technologies must wiggle in to help widen the gap. 

Change is contagious (look at every revolution… ever.).  We have the unenviable task of creating a new normal.  This will only happen with a constant and collective push.  Tweet, share, speak, blast, spread.  To quote Bluto again, “Who’s with me? Let’s go!” (Then he runs out the door alone.)