Private law firms once led the charge in spurring the innovation of legal technology to better serve their clients, however, the tide has changed and now legal departments are finding new ways to use the technology.

Rob MacAdam, the director of legal solutions at the U.K.-based legal tech company HighQ, said even as recently as five years ago law firms were coming to his company, which creates a software to streamline projects through a portal, to find better ways to connect to their clients.