Legal Innovation Spotlight Rethinking Legal Innovation Beyond ROI and Hourly Billing
Apr 8, 2026
Ken Crutchfield, founder of Spring Forward Consulting and legal tech strategist, shares big-picture thinking on law firm economics and AI-driven change. He talks ROI limits, why custom builds fail, and how managed services and new ownership models could reshape legal work. Short, provocative takes on who wins as automation and regulation evolve.
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Avoid Rebuilding Commodity Tech
- Be a technology user not a creator; avoid custom-building commoditized tools that drain resources.
- Ken and Ted note firms that rebuild off-the-shelf intranets often fail due to hidden TCO: maintenance, support, training, and staff turnover.
Partnership Model Blocks Long-Term Investment
- The law firm partnership and cash-distribution model discourages long-horizon capital investment because partners expect near-term profit distributions.
- Ken argued corporate-style capitalization and share value could better align incentives for tech/R&D.
Unbundle Legal Work Like Medicine
- Legal work can be unbundled like medicine: technicians, PAs, and specialists exist in healthcare and could map to legal information, managed services, and high-end advice.
- Ken sees the line between legal information and advice blurring as specialization and tech expand.