Don Philmlee

There is no doubt of the old maxim “if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it”. Law firms that have started the long road to auditing and measuring technology metrics will have a solid basis for making business decisions. Without such measurements, you are making decisions in the dark.

By and large, mega law firms are applying standard business principles to their legal technology efforts. Methods and standards such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), Six Sigma, PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) and others. This year this trend is showing up in mid-sized firms.

I think this is a natural progression as lawyers realize that technology needs to become part of the woodwork operations of the law firm, like Human Resources or Office Services. Technology needs to be viewed as an investment portfolio where decisions are made by assessing risks and working for return. No, I do not believe all returns on technology investments are tangible, but while an intangible benefit cannot be easily measured, it is worth the effort. The keeping-up-with-the-Jones’ method of technology purchasing and management needs to be put to rest.