The operating gap: Why legal tech fails without workflow control
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In many practices, legal work is still delivered through personal operating styles rather than a standard operating model. The mechanics of delivery depend on informal coordination and tacit knowledge rather than defined process and accountable ownership. When technology is introduced into that environment, throughput can improve but control typically deteriorates. In many cases risk shifts into forms that are harder to detect in real time and harder to evidence as having been properly managed afterwards.
Client expectations, pricing pressure and regulatory scrutiny have raised the bar. Legal services are now being reorganised around repeatable delivery with defined steps, clear ownership, measurable handoffs and auditability. That makes readiness the real prerequisite. Workflow readiness. Data readiness. Governance readiness.
The arrival of the EU AI Act formalises this shift. AI use inside a law firm now sits within a compliance framework with governance expectations that are assessable and documentable. That means a complete view of AI touchpoints, clearly defined permitted uses, controls around client data, effective human oversight and records that evidence how risk is identified, managed and contained. Shadow AI use scattered across drafting, translation, research, intake and review become operational exposure.
Praxis Consulting helps Irish solicitors’ firms close the operating gap.
The work starts where the risk accumulates. Intake, matter setup, document handling, delegation, approvals, billing handoffs and the controls that surround them. Praxis maps the reality of work as it happens, identifies friction and leakage and redesigns workflow so it becomes simpler, more consistent and measurable. Governance becomes built in rather than bolted on. Teams get clarity on ownership, standards and decision points. Technology adoption then becomes an operational discipline with clear objectives, defined controls measured outcomes.
This is the execution path that turns legal tech investment into measurable performance. Strong workflows reduce rework and compress cycle time. They also create safe boundaries for AI by managing defined inputs, defined outputs, defined supervision and a record of how the firm manages tools that touch client matters.
Firms that treat readiness as a strategic discipline will adopt faster, comply earlier and deliver a better client experience with less strain. Firms that ignore it will accumulate systems they cannot explain and risk they cannot evidence.
Book a free 15 minute consultation with Praxis Consulting. Leave with a clear view of your highest-risk workflow gaps and the first fixes that make AI and legal tech safe to scale.
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