The end of legacy systems: Why your next legal tech platform must be cloud-native | sa.global
For decades, platforms like Elite and Aderant formed the core of legal operations. They brought structure, consistency, and a standard way of managing the business of law. But today, these legacy systems are showing their age. As law firms shift toward intelligent automation, agile service delivery, and data-driven strategy, the very platforms that once delivered stability are now holding them back.
Firms that stay still risk more than inefficiency. They risk falling behind in an industry rapidly reshaped by client demands, AI, and new definitions of productivity.
Why does data control matter more than ever for law firms?
One of the most critical gaps with legacy or even cloud-hosted legal platforms is data ownership. When firm data sits in a vendor’s cloud tenant, control is lost. Visibility becomes fragmented. Responsiveness suffers. And in a landscape where automation and AI rely on real-time, connected data, that loss of control is no longer a technical inconvenience. It’s a strategic vulnerability.
However, next-generation law firms are rethinking this. They want data in their own tenant. They want immediate insight. And they want infrastructure that allows them to scale, adapt, and transform without the cost and disruption of wholesale reimplementation every few years.
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How are legacy systems holding law firms back from moving faster?
Legacy systems weren’t designed for today’s pace. Frequent manual updates, long development timelines, and expensive vendor dependencies weigh firms down. Even small changes often trigger delays across the organization. The result? Increased costs, operational drag, and reduced competitiveness, especially when attracting or retaining talent.
In contrast, next-generation platforms like evergreen by sa.global are built for continuous evolution. With over $15 million invested and backed by the Microsoft ecosystem, the platform releases four major updates annually, aligning with Microsoft’s release cycles. Each release is tested with over 400 automated checks before deployment. No downtime. No disruption. Just predictable innovation that keeps firms moving forward.
What kind of visibility do next-generation law firms need?
Siloed workflows limit insight. When finance, HR, business development, and legal operations all operate in separate systems, leaders get lagging indicators, not live visibility. That changes with a connected, cloud-native foundation.
evergreen by sa.global brings everything into one comprehensive legal business platform, powered by Microsoft Dynamics. Billing, forecasting, timekeeping, onboarding, and profitability analysis all operate from the same source of truth. With role-based dashboards, partners can monitor WIP, finance can track collections, HR can view capacity, and business development can assess conversion in real time. Every team sees what they need. More importantly, they can act on it.
This isn’t just technology consolidation. It’s a step toward operational clarity that law firms have long needed but rarely achieved.
How can legal platforms reduce friction and improve productivity?
Next-generation legal work doesn’t happen in silos. It moves across locations, teams, and tools. Firms need systems that move with their people. That’s why user experience is now a core metric of value.
With built-in integration to Microsoft Teams, professionals can record time, view matter details, submit expenses, create onboarding workflows, and approve tasks without switching context. Whether in court, remote, or on the move, attorneys stay connected to what matters.
This reduces friction, supports adoption, and protects valuable billable hours.
What does real AI in legal tech look like today?
Nearly 90 percent of Top 100 law firms have implemented or tested generative AI tools, according to PwC’s 2024 Law Firms’ Survey. One-third believe that at least 16 percent of fee-earning work will soon be automated.
In that environment, “AI-ready” is not enough. evergreen by sa.global delivers AI-powered functionality by design. With Microsoft Copilot integrations and persona-intelligent copilots, law firms can automate time capture, generate billing recommendations, flag anomalies, and track matter profitability in real time.
The goal isn’t to replace the lawyer. It’s to reduce administrative burden, catch issues earlier, and surface insights faster. Predictive AI can now scan historical billing data to prevent write-offs before they happen, turning risk into foresight.
This intelligence layer is only growing more sophisticated. Because it’s built on Azure, firms retain full ownership of their data. Compliance and security remain under their control. In legal tech, AI without trust is worthless. And trust starts with architecture.
What’s the real cost of staying on a legacy platform?
Every law firm exploring a platform upgrade should be asking six critical questions:
- Who owns our data?
- Where is it hosted?
- How often is the platform updated, and what is the process involved?
- Can it integrate seamlessly into what our lawyers already use?
- Is the AI native or plugged in after the fact?
- What is the long-term cost to scale, tailor, and maintain it?
If the answers to those questions don’t indicate strategic flexibility and control, the platform may not be future-proof.
That next “upgrade” on a legacy system isn’t an upgrade. It’s a reimplementation. And the perfect moment to rethink everything.
Why upgrading legal tech is a business decision, not just an IT one
This moment isn’t about replacing software. It’s about re-architecting how law firms operate. Firms that adopt cloud-native, AI-powered, role-specific platforms now will define what the business of law looks like in the next decade. They won’t just catch up. They’ll take the lead.
They’ll attract better talent. Deliver more profitable engagements. And serve clients with greater agility, intelligence, and confidence.
It starts with one decision: don’t upgrade what’s already holding you back.
