Legal Tech

Legal Tech Stack Audit: A Step-by-Step Framework for Legal Teams

A systematic approach to evaluating utilization, integration, costs, security, and ROI across your legal tech stack.

Josh Faggart

Josh Faggart

— 7 min read
An illustration of technology and data stacked with legal iconography

Most legal teams know they need to audit their technology. Far fewer actually do it well.

The difference isn't knowledge. Legal teams understand that technology should deliver value, integrate cleanly, and actually get used. The challenge is execution. By the time you realize a platform isn't working, you're already months into a contract, licenses are allocated, and the team has moved on to other priorities.

An annual technology audit changes that dynamic. Rather than reacting to problems, it creates a systematic process for evaluating what's working, what isn't, and where your next dollar should go. Done correctly, an audit turns technology spending from a hopeful investment into a measurable strategic advantage.

The Case for Systematic Evaluation

Legal technology spending has increased significantly over the past several years, yet many teams struggle to demonstrate ROI on their investments. The challenge isn't lack of tools. Most legal teams operate with focused technology stacks, yet resistance to adoption remains persistent, and underutilized tools drain budgets without delivering value.

The International Legal Technology Association's 2025 survey of 580 firms representing over 152,000 attorneys found that 57% cited resistance to change among users as the biggest hurdle to adopting or making use of emerging technologies. When technology sits unused or meets internal resistance, every dollar spent becomes waste rather than investment.

That's the core tension: technology that doesn't get used doesn't create value. An audit addresses this by separating theoretical capability from actual performance.

Five Areas Every Audit Should Examine

Effective audits are structured, not spontaneous. The following framework provides a systematic approach to evaluating technology investments across five critical dimensions.

1. Utilization: What Actually Gets Used

Utilization metrics tell you whether the tools you've purchased are solving real problems or creating new ones. Start with these questions:

  • What percentage of licensed users actively engage with the platform?
  • Has usage increased, decreased, or remained flat over the past year?
  • Are certain features heavily used while others sit dormant?
  • Do specific practice groups or team members avoid the platform entirely?

Low adoption rates signal misalignment between the tool and the workflow. This can stem from inadequate training, poor user experience, or simply the wrong product for the job. When usage data reveals gaps, the next step is understanding why. Schedule focused sessions with non-users to uncover barriers. Sometimes the issue is education. Sometimes it's the tool.

2. Integration: How Systems Connect

Integration failures create friction. When platforms don't communicate, teams resort to workarounds: manual data entry, duplicate records, and fragmented information. Over time, these inefficiencies compound.

Ask:

  • Which platforms require manual data entry or duplicate work?
  • Where do handoffs between systems create bottlenecks or errors?
  • Are you exporting and re-importing data between tools regularly?
  • Does your team maintain parallel records in multiple systems?

Integration challenges manifest differently depending on your technology stack. Some teams struggle with data locked in proprietary formats. Others face compatibility issues between tools that weren't designed to work together. The most persistent problems occur when critical information exists in isolated systems that can't share data at all.

The key question isn't whether your tools integrate perfectly. It's whether the workflows they support are efficient enough to justify the manual effort. Sometimes the right answer is better integrations. Sometimes it's consolidating to fewer, more comprehensive platforms. The audit helps you identify which problems are worth solving and which workarounds are acceptable given the alternatives.

3. Cost: The True Price of Ownership

License fees are only part of the equation. Total cost of ownership includes implementation, training, IT support, and the hidden costs of workarounds when systems don't perform as expected.

Evaluate:

  • Annual or per-user feesImplementation and training costs
  • Ongoing IT support and maintenance
  • Time spent on manual workarounds due to system limitations
  • Opportunity cost of not having better tools

Calculate cost per active user, not cost per licensed seat. A $50,000 investment with 80% adoption delivers more value than a $30,000 tool with 20% adoption. Pricing models matter too. Per-matter pricing can be more cost-effective than per-user licensing when team size fluctuates.

4. Security: Non-Negotiable Foundations

The legal industry handles sensitive information. Security is not optional. The ABA's 2024 Legal Technology Survey Report found that 60% of firms have implemented formal cybersecurity policies, yet phishing and ransomware remain major threats.

Your audit should confirm:

  • Does the vendor maintain SOC 2 Type 2 attestation?
  • Where is data stored, and who has access?
  • What is the vendor's incident response history?
  • How quickly do they patch vulnerabilities?

Vendors that are vague about security protocols, store data in unclear jurisdictions, or have experienced recent leadership turnover without clear succession plans warrant scrutiny. Review vendor agreements annually. Terms negotiated three years ago may no longer reflect current standards or your organization's needs.

5. Future-Readiness: Capacity to Evolve

Technology evolves quickly. According to ILTA's 2024 Technology Survey, AI adoption jumped from 15% of firms in 2023 to 37% in 2024, demonstrating how rapidly the landscape shifts.

Assess whether current tools can adapt:

  • How frequently does the vendor ship product updates?
  • Are they incorporating AI thoughtfully or just adding buzzwords?
  • Does their roadmap align with your strategic priorities?
  • Can the platform scale as your needs grow?
  • Is the vendor investing in the product or just maintaining it?

The difference between a platform that receives monthly improvements and one that ships annual updates is significant. In a rapidly evolving field like legal technology, stagnation is regression.

Deposition Technology: Where Workflows Meet Value

Depositions represent a significant investment of time and resources, which makes them a critical area to examine during your audit.

Consider your current workflow:

Scheduling and coordination. Are you coordinating deposition schedules through disconnected email chains and phone calls, or does your platform help you schedule with efficiency?

Remote deposition quality. General video conferencing tools weren't built specifically for legal proceedings. Purpose-built platforms offer HD video quality, integrated court reporting, and features designed specifically for the demands of legal testimony. For instance, Prevail’s platform integrates with Zoom to provide its tools in the interface you’re already using.

Exhibit management. How do you present documents during depositions? The best platforms include integrated exhibit viewers that allow real-time presentation, annotation, marking, and entry into the record, with each participant able to view, scroll, and zoom independently.

Real-time transcript access. During depositions, are you waiting for transcripts to arrive days later, or do you have access to searchable, AI-generated transcripts synchronized with video as the deposition proceeds? The ability to flag key moments, add bookmarks, and search testimony in real time fundamentally changes how teams can respond and strategize during proceedings.

Post-deposition workflow. After the deposition, how do you organize testimony, exhibits, and notes? Modern platforms like Prevail allow you to create video clips, search across all past sessions for keywords and phrases, and build a searchable testimony library without requiring multimedia skills.

Security and compliance. Are you confident your deposition platform meets the security standards required for sensitive legal proceedings? Look for ISO 27001 certification and SOC 2 Type 2 attestation as baseline requirements.

Prevail was built to address these challenges as an end-to-end testimony management platform. From remote video and instant AI transcription to integrated exhibit management and post-session analysis tools, Prevail provides the infrastructure legal teams need for efficient, secure depositions.

The right deposition platform depends on your specific needs. Consider case volume, remote vs. in-person ratios, team size, and integration requirements with existing document management and case management systems. When evaluating options, prioritize platforms that eliminate workflow friction rather than adding to it.

From Assessment to Action

After completing your audit, categorize findings:

Keep and optimize. Tools with strong adoption, clear ROI, and good vendor relationships. Focus on maximizing value through advanced training or underutilized features.

Evaluate for replacement. Underperforming tools or those with overlapping functionality. Create a short list of alternatives and conduct thorough trials. Technology often falls into this category when firms realize their tools lack purpose-built legal features, or when teams are cobbling together multiple platforms to handle scheduling, remote proceedings, and post-deposition workflow.

Sunset. Tools with minimal usage, prohibitive costs, or security concerns. Develop a migration plan that protects data and minimizes disruption.

Net new additions. Identified gaps where no current tool provides adequate functionality. Prioritize based on potential impact and budget availability.

Questions That Reveal Vendor Quality

Whether evaluating current vendors or considering new ones, ask:

  • What specific problems does this tool solve for legal teams?
  • How do you measure customer success, and what does good performance look like?
  • What does implementation actually involve, and what's required from our team?
  • How do you handle feature requests and product feedback?
  • What's changing in your product over the next 12 months?
  • How do you approach AI: what problems is it solving vs. creating?

The best vendors welcome these questions and provide specific, substantive answers.

Making Audits Systematic

A technology stack audit isn't a one-time project. Schedule quarterly reviews of your highest-impact tools and annual comprehensive audits of your entire stack.

The goal isn't to have the newest technology or the longest vendor list but to have the right tools, used effectively, delivering measurable value to your practice.

Your technology should empower your legal team to do what they do best: provide exceptional counsel and representation.

Want to learn more about how Prevail can streamline your deposition workflow? See how leading legal teams are using our platform to conduct better depositions with less administrative burden.

Schedule a demo

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