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4/12/2023 Thought Leadership Technology & Services

A Look at Legalweek 2023: Key Trends and Takeaways

Baird’s Legal and Compliance Technology & Services team recently connected with operators and investors across the Legal Service and Technology space. In conjunction with Legalweek, Baird was thrilled to host over 45 attendees, representing 15+ companies and 15+ sector investors, at our annual reception in New York.

The conference brings together thousands of legal professionals to network and explore trends and opportunities emerging in the legal space. Like years past, the annual event continues to attract a diverse group of participating companies and “fiefdoms” between legal tech, Corporate GC services, and ALSPs have converged.

We share key insights from our conversations and opportunities in the Legal and Compliance space in the below.

Automated Gavel: Chat-GPT Impact - Actual disruption is expected to be limited – bigger implications could be likely with next wave of legal focused providers. Presents new categorical opportunities on the litigation front as usage expands.
Legal Capacity Shortages: ALSP vs. Managed Services - Both law firms and GC’s are still determining the best path forward in leveraging external capabilities. Historical “body and hours” providers are continuing to move to more re- occurring managed services relationships, creating increased competition for “Lift and Shift” ALSP providers.
Underserved: Renewed Focus on Plaintiffs - As billions of dollars in annual litigation funding continue to flow and accelerate, the plaintiff market is beginning to see transformational changes. Biggest among these is the use of outsourced service providers and technology tailored to the unique plaintiff needs, opening massive addressable markets.
eDiscovery 2.0: Renewed Interest and Consolidation - Services provider consolidation has continued with several firms separating themselves in scale and geographic reach. Software consolidation has accelerated with strong challengers to Relativity beginning to emerge. Strong middle-market providers have continued to win through cyber security and deep litigation specific capabilities.
Still in the Spotlight: Finding “True Solutions” for Contract Management - With record dollars flowing in 2021 into legal tech, contract management found itself a leading category. Firm deployments have grown rapidly, but significant “usability” concerns remain. Service providers offering tech-enabled outsourcing or “software enablement” services have gained traction.