How to get your team excited about new legal tech

You've done your homework and found the perfect legal tech tool for your team. The software is user-friendly and solves real problems in your workflow.

But there's still one big challenge: resistance from some of your colleagues.

Sometimes this resistance is rational - maybe they spot real problems or see unnecessary changes to their workflow.

But often, the resistance comes from somewhere else: anxiety about change, concerns about learning new things, or worry about looking less competent.

This post focuses on how to handle these emotional barriers and turn skeptics into enthusiastic users.

Before you can change minds, you need to understand what's really causing the resistance. It's rarely as simple as people being "anti-change." Common reasons include:

• Fear of losing control: Nobody likes feeling forced to change how they work

• Comfort with familiar tools: Even if current tools aren't perfect, people know how to handle their quirks

• Feeling overwhelmed: When people are already busy, learning something new can feel like too much

• Past disappointments: If previous tech tools didn't live up to promises, people may be skeptical

Once you’ve pinpointed what’s causing the resistance, you can tailor your approach to addressing it.

We are more likely to embrace change when we can see how it benefits us directly.

So the most effective way to get buy-in is to show each person exactly how the tool will make their life better:

• Focus on immediate benefits: "This tool will cut your contract review time in half, helping you clear your to-do list faster"

• Use real examples: Run demos using their actual contracts or documents

• Address specific pain points: Show how the tool fixes the exact problems they have complained to you about

• Keep it practical: Talk about saving time today, not theoretical future benefits

Instead of a big rollout that might overwhelm people, try a gentler approach:

• Start with a pilot group who's naturally more open to new tools

• Let early adopters become natural champions for the tool

• Share specific success stories from the pilot team

• Let positive peer influence do some of the convincing for you

This might seem counterintuitive, but involving the strongest critics early on can actually help:

• Ask for their specific input during the testing phase - but also ask them to set out parts of the workflow where the tool did save time

• Listen to their concerns and address them openly

• Show respect for their experience and expertise

• Give them some ownership in the implementation process

The key to success is remembering that resistance usually isn't about the technology itself - it's about how people feel about change.

By addressing these feelings and showing clear personal benefits, you can help your team see new tech as an opportunity rather than a threat.

A final practical tip: When choosing legal tech tools, make ease of use a top priority. The easier a tool is to learn, the less resistance you'll face from your team. I wrote about that last month here.

And if you encountered any other strategies that worked for you, I’d love to hear them, just hit reply and let me know! (I reply to every message).

Thanks for being here,

Daniel

CEO at DraftPilot
LinkedIn

PS / Sales pitch: At DraftPilot, we know resistance to change is one of the biggest hurdles for legal teams. That’s why we designed our tool to work inside Word, so your team doesn’t have to adopt a new platform or change their existing workflows.

If you want to give it a try, hit reply, and we’ll set you up with a free two-week trial—no credit card required.