Extract from Ella Sherman’s article “In-House Teams Are Prioritizing Technology Strategy in 2026”
As 2025 comes to an end, in-house legal departments see technology strategy as a prime concern for their legal operations teams in the new year, according to a Monday survey from Harbor and the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium.
The 2025 Harbor Law Department Survey received responses from 135 legal departments across over 15 industries, bringing to head that technology is top of mind within these organizations and a primary responsibility for legal operations professionals.
More than two-thirds, or 80% of participants, identified technology strategy as a top priority for legal operations in the next 12 months. Other priorities include financial management at 72% and outside counsel or vendor management at 62%.
“That statistic aligns really well with what we’re seeing law departments ultimately trying to do, which is transform the ways of working … whether it’s cost, whether it’s efficiency drivers, I think there is a constant push now more than ever to ensure that departments are thinking differently about the way they engage and whether they work,” Lauren Chung, survey editor and Harbor practice group lead, strategy and transformation, told Legaltech News. “Instead of just implementing a lot of different tools, I think a lot more thought is going into this concept of technology strategy in the sense, let’s really step back and think holistically … what are we trying to solve?”
