While law firms have continued to focus on the trusted legal advisor role that is their bread and butter, alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) have made inroads with technology-heavy market segments like e-discovery or legal research that used to be considered the province of traditional law offices. But will the growing presence of ALSPs in those sectors force law firms to enhance their technological infrastructure or wrap themselves even more firmly around high-level legal advice?

The truth is there may not be much of a choice at all. A lack of financial incentive could delay firms from aggressively pursuing technology; however, a rapidly changing legal—and cultural—ecosystem makes the issue a matter of “when” not “if.”