It was a real surprise to see so many law firm IT directors and managers at Legal IT 2007 in London last week. Let us not fool ourselves - case management is a priceless tool for law firms, but 'fun' it is not.


Things only became clear when the IT head of one City firm sidled up with a fiendish grin, holding a brand new iPod Nano.



IT services company Compuware had sent invites to every IT chief it could find offering a free iPod to anyone who showed up at its stand. 'I've no intention of buying anything from them,' he said, 'but who's going to turn down a free iPod?' Indeed.



Sadly, one IT manager there had a horribly familiar complaint. Once upon a time, IT directors in mainstream business were seen as managers of costly 'utility' departments, who deserved no more recognition than plumbers and got no more respect than facilities managers.



Their constant refrain was: 'Give us a stake in the business, listen to us and we can drive the business forward.' In other words, people who really understand IT know how to make it into a business advantage. They are not just wiring things up. Mainstream business now, by and large, knows this.



Many law firms, however, do not. The IT chief gave a concise breakdown of his main problem when proposing a new solution: 'The biggest annoyance is when partners say: "Are other law firms using it?" I don't care if other firms are using it,' he fumed. 'This is what you need.'



This gripe throws into stark relief two key problems the legal industry is having with IT investment and strategy. First, law firms' endemic conservatism is stopping them innovating. Second, while partners still feel their personal profits leaking away whenever the IT department asks for money, there will always be another reason to fob the IT manager off.



A good example of a technology that has yet to take off in legal services, but which can save money and be good for marketing, is SMS integration. Some bulk conveyancers have discovered that texting clients with news saves money and time. It also prompts clients to call them, transferring costs. It is relatively simple to add to an IT infrastructure, but virtually no one is using it.



One IT vendor at the show moaned to another that 'out of the 1,250 firms we have, only about 20 have texting'. The second vendor and the Gazette raised their eyebrows at the same time. 'Actually, that's not bad,' they said in unison.



That is just 1.6% of firms. Everyone in Europe has been text crazy for years, and homebuyers want information immediately. Do the maths.