Law firm technology: what firms run in 2026 and when they replace it

What technology do law firms run in 2026?

Most law firms now run their core systems as cloud tools, and the new money is going to generative AI. In the ABA's 2024 survey, 73% of firms used cloud-based legal tools, with document management and practice management software the most adopted. ILTA's 2026 Technology Survey (released September 14, 2026) puts it this way: "GenAI has crossed from backstage experimentation to center stage production. For the first time in this survey's history, an emerging technology has become the primary focus of law firm technology investment." The same survey found one in five firms plan to replace their time and billing system within the next 12 months.

Those are two separate surveys with different samples, so read each number on its own terms. The ABA surveys its members in private practice, from solos to firms of 500 or more lawyers. ILTA's figures describe the 508 firms worldwide that answered its survey. Below: what each survey says, spending growth, what sets off a replacement and who decides. This page is for companies selling to firms; the legal tech hub maps the rest of the section.

What ILTA's 2026 survey says about firm systems

ILTA's 2026 Technology Survey drew on 508 law firms representing over 139,000 lawyers and about 275,000 total users, and was released September 14, 2026. It is a single survey of responding firms, not a census. Six findings matter if you sell into those firms.

• GenAI is in production. Nearly every responding firm (94%) was using or exploring GenAI, up 14 points from the prior year. The survey says the majority of GenAI-engaged firms now use it for drafting, legal research, document summarization and contract review.
• Time and billing is in play. One in five firms plan to replace their time and billing system within the next 12 months. Cloud adoption for time and billing rose seven points in a year, to 60%, counting systems already in the cloud or being migrated there within 12 months. ILTA says small and mid-sized firms are ahead on that move, while the largest firms have been slow to put finance and billing in the cloud.
• Documents, email and backup have mostly moved. The survey describes cloud document management, email and backup as becoming standard practice at most firms, with 80% of firms moving to cloud backup.
• The desktop refresh is done. Windows 11 went from 55% to 95% as the primary workstation operating system in a single survey cycle, so that project is behind most responding firms, not ahead of them.
• Cost is now a top worry. The high cost of technology shares top billing among leadership concerns with security compliance and risk management; what that means for vendor reviews is in the law firm vendor security review guide.
• Governance grows with firm size. A formal GenAI policy was in place at 57% of firms under 50 lawyers and 98% of firms with 350 to 699. Required training before use ran from 11% at the smallest firms to 72% at firms over 700 lawyers.

What the ABA's 2024 survey says about firm size and budgets

The ABA's 2024 Legal Technology Survey reaches further down market, and its figures should never be added to ILTA's. The ABA's March 2025 release reported that 73% of firms used cloud-based legal tools, with document management and practice management the most adopted, and that 60% of firms had formal cybersecurity policies.

Firm size changes who buys and how much. In the ABA's 2024 data, 97% of solo practitioners and 90% of small-firm lawyers made their own technology decisions, and 74% of solos spent under $3,000 a year on legal software, while larger firms routinely exceeded $20,000 a year. Half of firms with 100 or more lawyers employed dedicated IT staff or chief information officers. Of all firms surveyed, 65.2% budget for technology, and 53.7% of those said the budget rose from the prior year.

The ABA also asked about AI in a survey fielded October to December 2024: 30.2% of attorneys said their offices were using AI-based technology tools. That is a different question, sample and year from ILTA's GenAI figure; quote each with its own label.

How fast is law firm technology spending growing?

Fast, at the firms the Thomson Reuters Institute tracks. The Institute's 2026 State of the US Legal Market report (January 7, 2026) found the average firm's spending on technology grew 9.7% and on knowledge management tools 10.5% in 2025, on top of record growth in 2024. Its Law Firm Financial Index for Q2 2026 (issued August 10, 2026) put technology and knowledge management spending up 11.6% overall and 8.7% per lawyer, "continuing a steady multi-year build".

Those are panel figures from Am Law 100, Second Hundred and Midsize firms (184 US firms in the 2026 market report), not from every US firm. With cost now a top leadership concern in ILTA's survey, showing which existing cost your product removes is typically an easier conversation than asking for new money.

Which law firm systems get replaced, and what triggers it?

A replacement usually follows a change: the firm moves to the cloud, two firms combine, a new technology leader arrives, or a client or a policy raises the bar. No source we found ranks systems by how often firms replace them, so the table names what usually triggers each one, not which is replaced most.

For the people behind the third column, read law firm COO, CIO and innovation leaders. For what happens when two firms combine their stacks, read law firm mergers.

What does replacing a time and billing system involve?

More people than the software buyer expects. Writing in June 2026, the Association of Legal Administrators' executive director said partners should be consulted over a change in billing software, while an administrator runs procurement, testing and implementation. So the person you demo to is often not the person who signs, and partners who are consulted can still slow it down.

Typically, a billing change touches everything the firm bills from: matter and client records, rate tables, unbilled time, client billing rules and the reports partners read every month. That is one reason firms often pair it with a bigger move, such as a cloud migration or a merger.

If you sell billing, payments or anything that reads billing data, ask early which system the firm runs, when it went in and whether a replacement is already on the plan. If one is, you are selling into a project with an owner and a budget, not asking for new attention.

What this means for a legal tech seller this week

Start from the change, not from the firm list. A firm that just combined, hired a new CIO, adopted an AI policy or committed to a cloud move has a real reason to buy. The legal tech buying signals guide covers each moment, what it opens and who decides, and the trigger event entry explains the idea in general.

If you sell AI, bring governance answers to the first call. Larger ILTA firms are far more likely to require training, human review and vetted apps, and their buyers will ask how your product handles client data. The selling AI to law firms guide covers the ethics questions buyers bring. That material is context, not legal advice: check each rule's own text, and your own counsel, before you rely on it.

Match the sale to firm size: who signs, who evaluates and what slows a deal all change between a solo practice and a firm with a CIO. How to sell software to law firms walks through each size band.

Where Clean fits for legal tech sellers

Clean finds law firms and legal teams with a real reason to buy what you sell, shows the evidence behind each one and names who decides. Every prospect is backed by real-world records, and Clean keeps the source behind every reason so each one can be checked. Anything Clean cannot confirm stays marked unknown.

You tell Clean who to look for by industry, size, region and what you sell, and leave out your current customers. Clean is not a list vendor, a contact database or intent data, and Clean does not send messages for you. Your team decides who to contact and what to say.

Book a demo to see law firms and legal teams in your market with a real reason to buy what you sell, the evidence behind each one, and who decides there.