For a long time legal was considered far away from the general business. This may perhaps be a reason that led to a later adoption of technology to automate, accelerate and improve legal work. However, legal tools nowadays are no longer isolated applications only used by the legal function. They are now part of the broader enterprise technology stack. Legal IT has become a thing, a legaltech solution cannot be chosen without the common work between IT and legal.
For legal IT teams, approving a legal tool means validating security, integration, scalability, and governance while ensuring the solution supports legal workflows. This checklist outlines ten criteria that legal IT teams should evaluate to choose the right legal tool and avoid long term risk.
8 criteria when selecting a LegalTech companion
1. Integration with the enterprise ecosystem
One of the first things IT teams look at is overall integration with existing enterprise systems. They assess whether a new tool will require additional integrations with legacy software and how complex the implementation will be. This includes identity providers, ERP systems, CRM platforms, and collaborative tools, notably those used for project management. Legal IT teams should carefully evaluate how the legal tool integrates into the broader enterprise architecture.
Strong integration capabilities reduce data silos and manual processes. Furthermore, seamless interoperability limits friction and avoids creating disconnected systems that foster chaotic collaboration between departments.
2. Identity and access management alignment
Access control is one of IT’s top priorities. Alongside the legal team, IT plays a central role in user management, aiming to safeguard sensitive information and documentation from leaking to the wrong person. At the top of the priority list, IT teams should look for a solution that supports enterprise SSO and centralizes user management.
Legal IT teams must ensure access rights align with internal policies and can be easily audited at any time. Clear role definitions, structured permissions, and alignment with existing identity providers are essential to maintain security and compliance across the organization.
3. Security architecture by design
Security is a non negotiable pillar for IT teams when evaluating new enterprise solutions. For legal IT, the platform must offer strong encryption, secure hosting, and clear security documentation. Hosting is particularly important, as IT and Legal must determine where data should reside to remain compliant with the business’s core regions.
In many cases, opting for providers that offer local hosting options is the most secure and compliant choice. IT teams should request recognized security standards and documented certifications, not vague assurances. Transparency and traceability are key indicators of a mature security posture.
4. Data governance and auditability
A legal tool must support IT requirements for data ownership, traceability, and audit trails. This connects directly to encryption and hosting considerations. Certain regions, particularly in EMEA, have strict legal requirements regarding data governance and must comply with local regulations, such as DESC in the United Arab Emirates.
Legal IT teams ultimately need full visibility into who accessed data, when actions occurred, and how data is retained across regions. They must also be able to clearly explain these processes to internal stakeholders and customers.
5. AI governance and control
AI is increasingly embedded in legal platforms, making it essential for IT governance. As AI capabilities expand, so does the need for clear oversight and structured controls.
Legal IT teams should evaluate how AI models use data, whether customer data is isolated, how outputs can be audited, and how risks are managed. AI must support legal work without introducing new exposure or uncertainty.
A key distinction is between private and public AI models. Legal IT teams should understand whether the platform relies on public models trained on shared datasets or private AI environments where enterprise data remains segregated and controlled. For legal use cases, private and enterprise grade AI environments are often the safer choice, ensuring confidentiality, and better data protection.
6. Scalability across entities and regions
Legal IT decisions must account for future growth. A platform may initially be deployed in one jurisdiction, but it should be capable of expanding across multiple entities, regions, and languages without requiring technical redesign.
For legal IT, scalability means maintaining consistency in governance, security, and processes across the organization. The architecture should support increasing volumes of users, documents, and transactions without performance degradation or structural limitations. Scalability is not just about size, but about sustaining control as complexity grows.
7. Deployment, implementation and time to value
Legal IT teams should assess how quickly the platform can be deployed and configured within the existing environment. Implementation should not require extensive customization or prolonged integration cycles.
A legal tool should deliver value within a reasonable timeframe while respecting internal IT standards. Clear implementation methodologies, structured onboarding processes, and well defined configuration capabilities help reduce pressure on legal IT resources. Efficient deployment minimizes disruption and accelerates measurable impact.
8. Vendor reliability and roadmap
From a legal IT perspective, selecting a tool means entering a long term partnership. Stability and strategic direction matter as much as current features.
IT teams should review vendor financial stability, product update frequency, and roadmap clarity, especially regarding security enhancements, integration developments, and AI evolution. A transparent roadmap indicates long term commitment and alignment with enterprise needs.
Without a clear product vision and consistent innovation, organizations risk facing future migrations or costly transition, whereas the goal is to set strong foundations for the long term.
Moving forward together
Choosing a legal tool is no longer only a legal decision. It is a legal and IT decision with enterprise wide impact. When IT teams apply clear evaluation criteria and work closely with Legal, organizations reduce risk, improve adoption, and build sustainable digital foundations.
After all, the best legal solutions emerge when IT and Legal collaborate as equal partners to select the best fit solution for the business.
