The secret ingredients to successful tech implementation
LPM assistant editor Celeste Rivas sits down with Mike Hinchliffe, managing director, EMEA, at Tessaract, to discuss what makes a successful tech implementation in the era of AI and how an expanding tech stack can profoundly change law firms
Implementing new technologies can be a challenging journey for SME law firms, particularly when there is some hesitancy around embracing change. Replacing legacy systems oftentimes requires thoughtful planning, a careful change management strategy and, most importantly, engagement and buy-in from leaders and users alike.
For Mike Hinchliffe, managing director, EMEA, at Tessaract, the human component is vital for a successful tech implementation and helping the firm to efficiently navigate change. He says engagement from senior leadership is a make-or-break factor: “If the managing partner or CEO isn’t engaged in the change, then the chances of success are low. They need to be behind the transition. It’s not a leader’s job to do tech things, but it is their job to make sure that change happens properly.”
Having a strong change manager on board is critical, too: “Their role isn’t only to manage the technical process; it’s also to bring the people along the journey. They have to be out there speaking to everyone, bringing them along and selling the vision. After all, it’s going to bring a really positive change.”
Crucially, acknowledging that change can be hard and having a pragmatic and realistic — yet optimistic — perspective is the way to approach a tech journey, Hinchliffe adds: “A successful change management project will always be about phasing things. If you expect everything to be ready on day one of go-live, you’re likely to be disappointed.”
That same pragmatism must guide the implementation process from the very outset: “Often, the firm’s starting point is how it can move an existing workflow from the legacy system into the new one, but this is entirely the wrong approach. The right question to ask is how the firm can reach the end goal in the most effective way possible. Ultimately, it’s about what your objectives are and how your new systems can help you to get that,” elaborates Hinchliffe.
In this sense, assessing your firm’s capabilities to carry out an implementation successfully and knowing when to bring in specialised technical expertise is key. “A law firm that doesn’t already have the necessary in-house experience and believes they can do it without help is setting itself up for an unnecessarily difficult process. You’re investing in the next five or 10 years. So, if you think that calling a consultant or an expert project manager isn’t money well spent, you may need to recalculate how you’re looking at your investments,” he underlines.
Hinchliffe says there’s still a fear of change among some SME law firms and a few tech misconceptions — often around the integration capabilities of new systems and the security of cloud-based tools and data storage — that can lead to innovation inertia. So how can SMEs avoid this?
“It’s a bit like running a marketing campaign,” he explains. “You’re selling the vision to your people, and you want to start early. We’ve seen sometimes that firms are reluctant to share that change is coming because they’re worried about people reacting in a negative way. We don’t see it that way: if you advertise it early, it gives people time to adjust.”
Training is also important to prepare people, as is working closely with the vendor to overcome that reluctance: “You’ve got to be friends. There are going to be challenging moments and ups and downs, just like in any relationship. But you know your service provider is there to help you and the more you engage with them, the better outcomes you’ll get,” says Hinchliffe.
He adds that this support and mutual, honest communication need to be ongoing to achieve long-term results. Moreover, because transformation is a journey, rather than a single moment in time, implementations can be evolving processes in which systems need to be adapted incrementally to fit the firm’s specific needs. A collaborative partnership with the vendor is essential to achieve this.
Tech and the changing face of law firms
Implementing new systems, and AI in particular, inevitably reshapes law firms deeply, transforming roles, workflows and structures.
One example of such shifts, says Hinchliffe, is smaller firms hiring senior operational roles, like chief operating officer, to manage key tech decisions. He also notes the traditional IT support functions are now evolving: “The roles of IT people whose job was to manage local infrastructure are now becoming much more interesting and connected to business objectives rather than simply being about ensuring everything is in working order,” he explains. “As the mid-market adopts newer tools and software, there will definitely be room for people who’ll be the stewards of those technologies to make sure implementations are as effective as possible.”
As for more junior roles that are currently responsible for tasks already becoming automated, the future is less clear. More than half of SME leaders surveyed at the LPM Conference 2025 said they see potential to hire fewer entry-level roles as AI adoption increases. However, Hinchliffe believes the picture is more complex: AI will inevitably replace some functions but, crucially, create others. “I’ve talked to litigators who believe their knowledge and experience will be critical to review, question and correct AI outputs. I think we’ll see a lot of that,” he says. The rise of AI consultancies, which didn’t exist up until very recently, is another example of this dynamic.
In this context of ongoing tech transformation, law firm leaders need to fully focus on creating and delivering value to help manage fears of jobs being replaced by technology, advises Hinchliffe. While AI can take a lot of the humdrum work, it can never replace the human conversations and lawyer expertise that clients crave, he notes.
Concerns around technology are not limited to job security, he remarks — there’s a lot of fear of missing out (FOMO) on the latest tools, especially as innovation continues to gather pace. The sentiment is not unmotivated, says Hinchliffe, as firms that don’t engage with technology will inevitably fall behind and become less competitive. “It also has to do with client perception: if I’m buying legal services, then I need to know that you’re using the right systems to make you as effective as possible and deliver a better experience. And if you’re not, then I might look elsewhere.”
