Legal departments battling for talent increasingly are finding that if they’re not fully embracing the power of technology to boost efficiency and automate rote, dull legal work, the most-sought-after up-and-coming attorneys are passing them by, or becoming so frustrated they quickly exit.

Danielle Sheer, general counsel of the data-protection company Commvault, has seen a big shift since she started her legal career in 2006. Today, she said, often one of the first three questions a younger lawyer interviewing for a job asks is, “Do you use any legal technology?”