How does real digital transformation succeed in law firms and legal departments, beyond buzzwords and tool hype? In this interactive webinar, Karin Mülchi of Bridge Legal and Fabian Staub of CASUS explain why culture, communication and clarity matter so much. Here are the key take-aways.

Key take-aways at a glance

Process before tool: digitalisation starts with clearly identified processes, not with a software purchase.
Use cases before AI hype: clarify concrete problems and requirements first, then assess where AI can help.
Start small, learn fast: run pilots with clear use cases and build internal champions.
A safe entry point: roll out in stages rather than with a big bang, so nobody is left behind.
Scaling, not replacement: technology multiplies expertise instead of displacing lawyers.
Data protection as a dealbreaker: the highest security standards and attorney-client privilege are non-negotiable.
Continuous change: keep the momentum alive at every level.

The wrong assumption at the start of a project

Karin Mülchi is a lawyer herself and accompanies law firms and legal departments through digital transformation as a legal consultant. A common mistake, she explains, is to treat digitalisation as an end in itself. Tools get introduced top-down, over the heads of the people who will use them, without a concrete problem, concrete use cases or clearly mapped processes. AI in particular is often mistaken for mere hype and equated with digitalisation. The first question has to be a different one:

Are we even digital enough as an organisation to benefit from AI?

Without clear use cases and defined workflows, any technology investment stays ineffective.

Where the internal resistance comes from

Resistance to digitalisation projects takes many forms. Many people see their work as too individual, too specific to be standardised. Yet routine processes in particular can usually be unified without losing what makes a single case unique.

The art is to identify the processes that are the same everywhere, while still allowing for the individuality of a case or a project.

Cost is another obstacle. Karin has a clear view on this: a good product simply has its price. What really gets expensive is a tool that goes unused because the processes were never defined. Hence the rule: clarify the workflows first, buy the technology second.

Karin often hears sentences like "I don't have time for this" or "it's just a trend, it will pass". But this is exactly the moment to engage with digital ways of working. Practice leads to understanding, and whoever starts early learns faster where technology delivers real value and where it does not.

Process before tool selection

So when is the right moment to pick a digital tool? Karin is unambiguous:

We are not going shopping.

The starting questions are different ones: where do we stand, what do we want, which processes do we have, and which of them could a technical solution improve? Before talking about buying software, the team should look at its internal workflows. Which steps could be digitalised directly, even without an additional tool? Only once it is clear which use case and which need lack a solution does targeted purchasing make sense.

Why start now?

AI is no longer an add-on in legal work, it is a given: staff have long been using tools like ChatGPT in their daily work. What they need is a protected environment in which everyone can use the potential of AI safely and responsibly. And the generation that still feels uneasy about it must not be forgotten. Instead of a big bang, Karin recommends a gradual build-up in which digital applications work their way into everyday practice until they are genuinely part of the process.

Whoever gathers experience and builds competence now secures tomorrow's head start.

Pilot projects and champions as success factors

Starting small with a clearly defined use case gives the best odds: it allows fast learning and iteration. The more the relevant users are involved from the outset, the more internal champions emerge to drive the change forward. Buy-in from management matters, of course, but the key to a successful project is bringing the future users along from day one.

What drives the shift

Digital change in law firms and legal departments is being pushed by several forces at once. The unbroken hype around AI creates real momentum: curiosity and willingness to experiment grow as the promised gains in efficiency and quality become tangible. At the same time clients apply increasing pressure, expecting innovation, speed and smart services. Competition adds to this, with large international firms raising the bar through advanced solutions. And technology has moved far enough that entry-level solutions such as CASUS can be tested free or cheaply, so a first pilot is easy to run and quick to show results.

Change management as a success factor

What makes a digitalisation project succeed? Not the tool selection, but a shared understanding of how the work currently gets done. Everyone belongs at the table: talk to staff about their daily work and the processes behind it to understand where they stand and which challenges they see. Only then can existing workflows be mapped systematically and improved together. Regular exchange makes sure new ways of working are adopted step by step and nobody feels steamrolled, because people are the biggest and most important factor in any digitalisation project. At the same time, the high expectations raised by the AI hype need realistic management: before staff start experimenting on their own, targeted training and clear expectation-setting should create a safe frame. The overarching goal stays the same:

The aim should be to make legal work scalable, not to replace lawyers.

Data protection and security: the non-negotiable basis

Sensitive client and case data are the heart of any firm. Without protection, a digital project has already failed, as Karin puts it plainly:

Data protection is the dealbreaker if it is not guaranteed.

No one should therefore consider a tool that does not meet the highest security standards and safeguard attorney-client privilege. Only on that basis do you earn everyone's trust and lay the foundation for every further digitalisation initiative.

Continuous change instead of an IT project

The conclusion: digitalisation is not a one-off major project but an ongoing process. Keep the topic alive by engaging with new developments again and again. A designated working group should drive process adjustments and keep an eye on what the market brings. The topic belongs in partner meetings too, so that everyone can watch how the technology evolves. And however tempting perfection may look, it is not the goal: