How Law Firm Administrators Can Streamline New Tech Implementation

Why implementing new technology matters for legal administrators

Legal administrators oversee the essential functions that keep a firm running—HR, finance, office operations, and compliance. When these processes rely on outdated or inefficient tools, the result is bottlenecks, errors, and stress across the firm.

The challenges vary by firm size. In small law firms, administrators often wear many hats, juggling billing, payroll, compliance, and staff coordination simultaneously. In larger firms, administrators coordinate across specialized teams and systems, which often means wrestling with fragmented tools that don’t integrate well.

Key pain points include:

• Financial management, including legal billing, invoicing, and trust accounting
• Staff coordination and HR processes
• Document management and compliance tracking
• Managing multiple systems that don’t communicate effectively

Implementing new technology directly addresses these issues. By streamlining operations, automating repetitive tasks, and standardizing workflows, administrators can save time, minimize errors, and reduce compliance risk. More importantly, adopting the right tools helps the entire firm work more efficiently, freeing up administrators to focus on oversight and strategy rather than firefighting.

These challenges and solutions align with the Support Staff Tech Change Management Success Kit, which offers structured frameworks for planning, implementing, and optimizing technology adoption.

Best practices for leading tech adoption

Implementing new technology can feel daunting, but administrators can take clear steps to guide their firms through successful change.

1. Build awareness and excitement. Introduce the benefits of the new system early, showing how it will reduce pain points for staff at every level.
2. Engage all staff. Attorneys, paralegals, and assistants should feel included in the process. Their feedback helps anticipate resistance and build buy-in.
3. Start small. Launch a pilot program with a smaller group or practice area. Use their experiences to refine workflows before scaling firm-wide.
4. Communicate clearly. Share timelines, training schedules, and responsibilities so no one is left uncertain about what comes next.
5. Track early wins. Celebrate measurable improvements like time saved, fewer errors, or reduced billing delays. Highlighting quick successes helps maintain momentum.

With these practices, administrators can turn potential disruption into firm-wide growth.

Download our Rollout Plan Template and Training Checklist for structured guidance to simplify implementation.

How to gain law firm wide buy-in

Before leading the charge for new technology at your law firm, it’s important to take a step back and carefully evaluate the areas where change is most needed. By understanding what’s slowing your firm down and what’s causing unnecessary stress for administrators and staff, you’ll be better positioned to choose a solution that makes a measurable difference.

Here is a step-by-step guide for how law firm administrators identify challenges, research solutions, and build a strong proposal for change:

1. Focus on challenges and pain points first

As our guide to law firm management explains, it’s best practice to have a clear idea of what problems need solving when considering implementing new technology. To determine if a tech solution is right for your law firm, start by defining the existing pain points that negatively impact the business. Then you can better assess if a tech solution will alleviate those issues.

Common challenges administrators face include:

• Fragmented systems across finance, HR, and operations
• Manual processes that increase the risk of human error
• Difficulty tracking deadlines, reporting, and compliance metrics
• Too much time spent on administrative tasks instead of strategy and oversight

Example scenario: A small family law firm administrator manages trust accounting, payroll, billing, and document organization across multiple disconnected tools. Without a unified system, tasks are repeated, errors slip through the cracks, and critical deadlines risk being missed.

Other challenges your law practice may be facing include: 

• The shift to distributed, remote practice models
• The transition to client-centered lawyering
• Privacy, compliance, and data security issues
• Document organization and management, and data access complexity

While there are many tech options available to law firms, it’s important to remember that your firm may not benefit from adopting every new technology that you come across. Focus on the quality of benefits (tangible and intangible) and how they fit your firm’s unique needs.

2. Do your research

If you’re a law firm administrator and you want to look into a legal software solution for your firm, you need to do thorough research. Document your findings as you go—this will save you time later if you decide to create a proposal. 

• Learn how it works. You don’t have to become an expert spokesperson for the technology. But taking the time to understand how the software works is key. Look for resources to help you with this. For example, Clio offers a free intro webinar to demonstrate how the software can help your firm. In addition to a basic understanding of how the technology works, consider factors like security, useful integrations, and support. 
• Make a pros and cons list. Make sure you thoroughly understand the pros and cons of the new software. Consider factors like cost, ease of use, benefits, updates, and data migration.
• Check out the competition. Armed with your pros and cons lists, compare the technology with other similar tech options to see which solution is the best fit for your firm.
• Get a free demo. Many legal technology solutions offer a free demo of the software. A personalized demonstration can help answer specific questions you may have for the technology vendor.

3. Conduct a SWOT analysis 

A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) helps determine whether new legal software is the right choice. It gives you a clear view of potential benefits and risks, and provides concrete data to support your proposal. When presenting to firm leadership, partners will likely be interested in:

• How much money and time will the new software save? (Strength)
• How difficult and time-consuming will it be to implement? (Weakness)
• How much potential increase in profits and/or revenue could it generate? (Opportunity)
• What risks are involved if we adopt the new software? (Threat)

Learn more about how to conduct a SWOT analysis.

4. Document your findings

Thoroughly analyzing a potential new technology is only half of the preparation required if you are a law firm administrator who wants to recommend new software to your law firm. To present your technology solution more effectively, you need to record your findings in a formal document.

Your formal proposal for adopting a new legal software at your firm should include:

• The existing pain points that are proving challenging to your business
• Summaries and findings from your research (including costs and competitive data)
• Your SWOT analysis
• If possible, an assessment of the potential ROI

Once you’ve identified a solution that meets your firm’s needs, it’s time to think about how to implement it.

5. Create a legal technology transition and implementation plan

Change is hard. You may also face resistance when implementing new software at your firm. To make it easier for staff to adapt, begin by presenting a clear picture of the current situation. Include the pain points, potential solution, how to implement that solution, and what to expect once your firm switches to the new legal software. Map out a comprehensive transition and implementation plan. Having a plan will help ensure your firm will enjoy a smooth rollout and onboarding process.

Your plan should present answers to questions staff may have about how you will implement the new solution, such as:

A. What will the transition/migration period look like? 

If you’re planning to transfer your law firm’s data to new legal software, you need to have a plan and a supporting team to accomplish this quickly, securely, and efficiently. 

For example, Clio offers comprehensive migration services and data migration support. Whether you’re moving to Clio from a manual spreadsheet system, a server-based solution, or another cloud-based solution, a dedicated Migration Specialist will work with your firm to help transfer your data securely and quickly. You can also work with a Clio Certified Consultant (more on this below).

B. How will you encourage your law firm’s staff and partners to adopt the new legal software? 

As Matt Homann, former lawyer-turned-CEO of a design firm, discusses change management for law firms in an interview, change can be a paradox for many law firms. 

As Matt says, “People don’t want to change because they lose something. They lose knowledge with an old way of doing things. They lose power. They lose status. They lose comfort. They lose the ability to do something in a simple way, even if it fundamentally is more complicated.”

With this in mind, find ways to remove the barriers to adoption and motivate staff to embrace the new tech solution. A few helpful tactics outlined by the Forbes Human Resources Council include:

• Help employees see the value for themselves and the law firm. If staff fully understand how the new software will make their work easier, more efficient, and/or less stressful—plus help the firm be more successful—they may be less resistant to change.
• Provide multiple training options. Offer training content in different formats to accommodate different learning styles and preferences. Consider a strategy that uses online and in-person training, on-demand how-to videos, a help center, and skilled employees acting as tutors for other staff.
• Reward employees. Encourage adoption by rewarding employees in ways that are most meaningful to them, such as coffee gift cards for completing the training. A team lunch when all members have reached a designated implementation milestone also helps.
• Try fun and experiential learning platforms. Making learning fun and rewarding for employees helps promote software adoption. To boost engagement, consider gamifying the training process (i.e., earning badges or micro-credentials).. 

Dr. Robert Cialdini’s principles of persuasion can also help you get buy-in for change at the firm. Read more tips from our interview with him.

C. Who will be responsible for what? 

Be clear about who will be responsible for each aspect of the transition to avoid miscommunication and implementation gaps. But don’t surprise anyone—be sure to communicate clearly and early with everyone involved.

D. What would a realistic timeline look like? 

During your research into the new legal technology, you should establish how long the transition will take. Consider the time your firm will need—from the decision to adopt the new legal software to the point when your firm will be fully up and running. Remember to factor in considerations like data migration and staff training.

6. Present your proposal

Once you thoroughly research, plan, and document your proposal, the next step is to present your proposal formally. 

Set a meeting with the managing partners, CTO, or other decision makers. If possible, invite other law firm staff to listen to your proposal. Engaging other staff members can be useful since the new software will address pain points they may currently be experiencing.

Come prepared with your plan and documentation. Also, be prepared to discuss potential questions about your proposal and the new legaltech software. 

If your proposal is approved, it’s time to put your implementation plan into action. While any new technology comes with a learning curve, the right preparation and support can make adoption smooth. To ease the transition, consider working with a legal technology consultant—for example, Clio’s Certified Consultant Program connects firms with experts who can help you get up and running quickly.

Law firm administrators can spearhead change at law firms 

Law firm administrators can play an integral role in supporting their firms—and driving change that boosts the bottom line. You may be a law firm administrator tasked with evaluating potential legaltech solutions for your law firm. Or maybe you believe a new legal software will help your law firm streamline workflows and improve revenue. Either way, you can make a difference in your firm’s future success by upgrading its tech stack.

While conducting in-depth research, preparing a plan, and presenting a proposal about new technology to key decision-makers takes time and effort, it can pay off in the long run—for both you and the fiscal health of your firm.