The purpose of this column is to provide a fresh start for the law firm technology committee process, and to suggest approaches likely to work well.
Technology is a big and costly part of the practice of business law.
Changes in technology are happening so fast that the cost of new programs and equipment must now be treated as expenses instead of capital investment. Useful lives are getting shorter and new products appear month after month. Because having a proper perspective and an appropriate level of sophistication regarding technology is now a necessity, today's law firm must have a technology committee that responds to the ever changing law practice landscape while following a comprehensive plan and respecting budgetary constraints. Therefore a review of how the firm's technology committee is operating is timely. First of all, a law firm should produce a mission statement for the committee.