In this Legal Tech Implementation Forum session, John Lindsey, Vice President of Sales
Aracor, was joined by Jon Bartman, Founder of The Law Tech Consultancy, and Tom Martin, CEO of LawDroid. Lindsey drew on what he has seen as firms run pilots, including in M&A due diligence. Bartman spoke from experience of law firm pilots and vendor negotiations, while Martin, who works on the vendor side, added views on building versus buying and on giving vendors useful feedback.

Overview

Martin argued that the age of experiments is behind us and the question is now how to implement responsibly, including whether to build, buy or do both. The speakers agreed that pilots are mostly about people rather than technology. Bartman recalled a firm that put 130 people on a generative AI pilot, a small share of the firm, of whom only eight actually used it.

The remedy, Bartman said, is a well-run pilot with written success criteria agreed before it starts, shared by firm and vendor (for example, fifteen of twenty goals achieved counts as success). Pilots work best when run by the people who will use the tool daily, with time set aside, rather than by someone too senior. Martin pushed further: adoption is only the baseline, and success should be measured by the value created for the firm and its clients. Lindsey observed that boardroom pressure to move fast means value is often considered too late.

Practical tensions remain. Seat pricing is broadly clear, but Lindsey said token-based pricing is a source of concern. Martin noted that building in-house brings costs such as maintenance, optimisation and staff. Bartman suggested smaller firms often find that building with tools like Claude is harder than expected, as it is better as a connector.

Customisation is easier for the largest firms with purchasing power, while Martin noted niche vendors can tailor products more readily. Lindsey described firms choosing projects carefully with token costs in mind, and creating package arrangements so consumption costs can be passed to clients. Martin cautioned that the efficiency narrative obscures a better work product, since AI allows deeper analysis; Lindsey added that selling efficiency is awkward in a profession that bills by the hour.

Key Takeaways

• Write the success criteria down before the pilot begins. Agreeing measurable goals with the vendor stops pilots becoming a waste of time for everyone.
• Choose pilot users carefully. Pick people who will use the tool daily and have spare capacity, and involve everyone from leadership to those doing the work.
• Treat adoption as the baseline, not the goal. Ask what value the tool creates for the firm and its clients, including better quality work as well as time saved.
• Count the full cost of building. Maintenance, optimisation, model selection and internal staff all add to the price, and token pricing remains uncertain.
• Give vendors detailed feedback. Screenshots and a clear description of how you want something to work let developers fix what lawyers actually mean.
• Scale licences to real use. Buying for the few who work at the cutting edge, then adding users, can be more sensible than blanket rollouts.