My recent post “Your Paralegals Are an Embarrassment” about the lack of technology being employed by law firms struck a nerve with the paralegals. Unfortunately, they weren’t the intended target of my advice.

I was attempting to hassle lawyers about the failure to adopt technology. The point I was making is that paralegals largely perform functions better handled by technology or by lawyers themselves.

This was the key takeaway:

Paralegals have largely been replaced by technology. If you’re still using them, then you should be carefully examining their function and looking at tech options for solving the problems the paralegals are solving now.

Is it you I’m talking to? Do we walk into your office and see paper? Do lawyers draft documents by cutting and pasting? Do we call clients to gather basic information? Do we spread out paper or images and manually sort, index, and organize incoming materials without any automated assistance? Are we reinventing the wheel each time we start a new matter?

Reactions to the Post

I struck a nerve with my post. Paralegals jumped in with comments—lots of comments. More comments than have ever been posted on the site.

Some readers quickly grasped the point and commented on the post in agreement. We know we’re laggards when it comes to technology that keeps clients informed, analyzes documents, tracks case progress, assembles documents, and performs other intelligent functions.

It’s appalling when the typical real estate agent runs a business that makes many law firms look like amateur hour at the rodeo. The technology we use in our practices is often terrible.

Other readers, instead of grasping my point, explained why paralegals could not be replaced by technology and/or lawyers. Of course, they’re wrong about that, and their comments largely reinforced the point.

• “They overwork the paralegals by doing things ‘the old fashioned way,’ which typically is the wrong way.”
• “I applaud your promotion of technology adoption in a field where it seems getting new tech accepted can be like pulling teeth.”
• “‘This is how we’ve always done it’ seems to be a point of pride with law firms.”
• “I still recall the instances when I had to show the partner I worked for how to do basic things on his computer.”
• “I’ve known attorneys that couldn’t send a fax, print an envelope, or make a color copy.”
• “Are instructional videos forthcoming providing step-by-step directions on how to clear paper jams from copiers so the attorneys can stop calling me at home?”
• “Not every paralegal works in an office that is automated with form production.”

Many of the paralegals responding to my post felt devalued and unappreciated (by me as well as by their employers). But they’re right to be afraid for their futures. Paralegals handling routine, easily automated tasks should be replaced by technology, and they know it. We’re not doing anyone any favors by moving slowly, increasing client costs, decreasing profits, and keeping employees in roles that fail to make economic sense.

As I said in the earlier post, paralegals are important in some roles.

Certainly, there are special cases where paralegals make more sense than technology (and if I were a paralegal, I’d be sure to find one of those roles), but more often than not, the paralegal role should be replaced by someone or something else.

Paralegals doing the rote, routine, repeatable tasks that can be included in a system and automated, outsourced, or eliminated need to worry. Sadly, many of the paralegals commenting on the post are in roles that ought to be reassigned. Read their comments, and you’ll see how they’re spending their days. Better yet, look around your office and see how your paralegals are spending the hours you’re buying. At what level are they functioning? Should someone/something be doing the work instead of the paralegal?

It’s worth noting that I really upset some paralegals. For that, I feel bad. Maybe provoking paralegals isn’t such a good idea?

The paralegal reaction might also guide you in bringing technology to your practice. Don’t expect an easy path. Anticipate resistance and reluctance to adopt new practices. While paralegals are well aware of the need for technology in their firms, they also hold firm in their belief that they can’t be replaced. Change is scary. One study reports that “perceived job insecurity ranks as one of the most important factors in employee well-being and paradoxically can be even more harmful than actual job loss with subsequent unemployment.”

Any threat to one’s livelihood or identity engenders strong reactions. The comments prove that point. Tread carefully as you move forward. Recognize that technology represents more than simply a tool for getting the work done. It represents change, and change is always difficult. Don’t expect the people being replaced to embrace the technology replacing them.

We’re slow to bring technology to our practices. It’s time. In fact, it’s well past time. It’s time to make some changes.