What Should Law Firms Ask Before Investing in New Business Development Technology?

By The Gatsby Team · 24 September 2026 · 9 min read

Law firm professionals evaluating business development technology and relationship intelligence tools.

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Law firms have more business development technology choices than ever, including CRM platforms, relationship intelligence tools, experience management systems, proposal software, email marketing platforms and a rapidly growing number of AI products. Each is designed to make some aspect of marketing, business development or client service easier.

But adding another platform to a law firm's technology stack is a significant investment of money, time and attention. The feature list matters, but it is only one part of the decision. Firms also need to understand the problem they are trying to solve, who will actually use the technology, how it fits into existing workflows and what will be different if the investment is successful.

These 10 questions can help law firm leaders, business development teams and other stakeholders evaluate new technology with those practical considerations in mind.

1. What Problem Are We Trying to Solve?

Every technology evaluation can begin with a clearly defined business problem. A firm may want to help lawyers identify who knows a prospect, give client teams greater visibility into relationships, reduce research time before pitches or better understand connections brought by lateral hires.

The more specific the problem, the easier it becomes to evaluate whether a platform can actually help solve it. "We need better relationship intelligence" is a starting point. "Our BD team spends hours trying to determine who at the firm has a meaningful relationship with people attending a pitch" gives the firm something much more concrete to evaluate.

Starting with the problem also provides a clearer way to measure the investment later. If the objective was to make relationship research faster and more useful, the firm can look at whether that work has actually changed after implementation.

2. Who Will Actually Use the Technology?

The people involved in selecting a platform and the people who use it every day may be very different.

Business development or technology leadership may manage the evaluation, while partners, associates, marketing professionals, practice leaders and client teams ultimately rely on the information. Each group may approach the platform differently.

Talk to the people who will use the technology before the decision is made. Find out when they would use it, what information they need and where the current process creates extra work. Those conversations can help the firm evaluate whether a platform fits naturally into existing workflows and what training, communication and support will be useful during implementation.

3. How Much Additional Work Will Lawyers Need to Do?

Lawyers already balance client work, internal responsibilities and business development. A system that depends heavily on lawyers regularly entering, updating or maintaining information needs to account for that reality.

During the evaluation process, look closely at where the platform gets its information and what users will be responsible for providing themselves. Ask what happens if lawyers don't regularly update the system and whether the information will still be useful.

Reducing unnecessary administrative work can make adoption easier. It also allows lawyers to spend more of their business development time using information to prepare for meetings, strengthen relationships and follow up with clients and prospects.

4. What Useful Information Does the Firm Already Have?

Many law firms already have years of useful information spread across CRM systems, email, contacts, matters and other internal sources. The firm may know far more about a client, prospect or relationship than any one lawyer or BD professional can easily see.

Before adding another repository, look at what information already exists and how easily people can use it.

A new technology may be particularly valuable when it helps the firm make better use of information it already has. That can also increase the value of previous technology investments by making existing data more accessible and useful in everyday business development.

5. Can Lawyers and BD Teams Get Answers Quickly?

Consider a common situation: a partner has a meeting tomorrow and wants to know whether anyone at the firm knows the people attending.

How long does it take to get a useful answer?

If the process involves searching several systems, checking LinkedIn, emailing colleagues and waiting for responses, an important part of the technology evaluation is whether that process can become easier.

Business development often moves quickly around pitches, conferences, client meetings and new opportunities. Information has much greater value when lawyers and BD teams can access it while there is still time to use it.

6. Does the Technology Provide Enough Relationship Context?

Knowing that two people are connected tells only part of the story. A firm may also want to understand the nature of the relationship, its history and whether there has been recent interaction.

That context matters when someone is deciding whom to approach for an introduction. A lawyer who exchanged a few emails with a contact several years ago is different from a lawyer who has worked closely with that person across several matters.

As part of the evaluation, look at the information available around a relationship and whether it helps the BD team or lawyer make a more informed decision about the best person to involve.

7. Can It Help Business Development Teams Identify Opportunities?

Good technology can give BD professionals better information to bring into conversations with lawyers.

Instead of beginning with "Who do you know at this company?" the BD team may be able to come to the conversation with a clearer picture of existing relationships and focus the discussion on which connections are relevant and what to do with them.

The same principle applies to client development, pitches and prospecting. The more groundwork that can be done before the conversation with the lawyer, the more time the BD professional can spend helping determine the appropriate next step.

This is an important distinction when evaluating technology. Look beyond what information a platform can provide and think about how the BD team will use that information in its actual work with lawyers.

8. Can It Support Collaboration Across the Firm?

Large law firms have extensive networks across practices, offices and geographies, but lawyers naturally have the greatest visibility into the people and relationships closest to them.

A partner in New York may have no idea that a colleague in London has a strong relationship with an executive at a company the firm is pursuing. A lawyer joining the firm may bring relationships that could be relevant to several practices, but those connections aren't always immediately visible to the people who could benefit from knowing about them.

Technology can help make those broader networks easier to understand. This can be particularly useful for global pitches, cross-practice client development, lateral integration and other initiatives that depend on collaboration across the firm.

9. Can We Use It Across Several Business Development Priorities?

Consider where else a platform could be useful beyond the original reason for purchasing it.

Relationship information, for example, may be relevant to prospecting, client teams, pitches, cross-selling, succession planning, conference preparation and lateral integration. A platform that supports several important workflows may provide value to a broader group of lawyers and business development professionals.

This can also help with adoption. Different groups within the firm may have different reasons for using the same technology, so understanding those use cases early can help the firm introduce it in ways that are relevant to each audience.

10. How Will We Know Whether It's Helping?

Usage statistics can tell a firm whether people are logging in, but they don't tell the entire story.

Go back to the business problem that prompted the investment. If the firm wanted to make relationship research faster, is the BD team spending less time searching for connections? If the objective was to improve meeting preparation, are lawyers receiving more useful information before important conversations? If the firm wanted greater visibility into relationships, are previously unknown connections leading to introductions and conversations?

The measures will vary depending on the technology and the reason for purchasing it. Defining them early gives the firm a more useful way to evaluate whether the technology is becoming part of the business development process and where additional training or changes may be helpful.

Frequently Asked Questions About Law Firm Business Development Technology

What should a law firm consider before buying new business development technology?

Start with the specific business problem the firm wants to solve, the people who will use the technology and how the platform will fit into existing workflows. Firms can also evaluate how much manual work will be required, what existing information the technology can use and how success will be measured.

How can law firms evaluate relationship intelligence technology?

Look beyond whether a platform can identify connections. Consider whether it provides enough context to understand the relationship, how quickly lawyers and BD teams can access the information and whether the technology can support practical activities such as prospecting, pitches, client development and meeting preparation.

Why is adoption important when evaluating law firm technology?

A platform can have extensive capabilities and still provide limited value if lawyers and business development professionals don't incorporate it into their work. Evaluating how much additional effort users will need to provide and how the technology fits into existing workflows can help firms make more informed purchasing decisions.

How should law firms measure the ROI of business development technology?

The measures should connect to the problem the firm originally wanted to solve. Useful indicators may include time saved researching relationships, faster meeting and pitch preparation, increased use of previously unknown connections, introductions generated and greater collaboration across practices and offices.

How Does Gatsby Fit Into a Law Firm's Business Development Technology Strategy?

Gatsby helps law firms turn scattered information into useful intelligence for business development, client growth and relationship management. For firms evaluating technology, that can be particularly relevant when lawyers and BD professionals need a better understanding of the companies they are pursuing and the relationships that may already exist around them.

The larger lesson applies to any business development technology investment. Start with the work lawyers and BD teams are trying to accomplish. Look at how they handle that work today, where information becomes difficult to find and how a new platform would improve the process.

The strongest technology investments become useful parts of the way people work. They help a BD professional prepare a lawyer for an important meeting, identify a relevant relationship, research a prospect, support a pitch or recognize an opportunity with an existing client while there is still time to act on it.