The term “legal technology” and its contraction “LegalTech” appeared in the 2000s. Originally, LegalTechs were American or British start-ups providing online legal services for law firms or individuals. Formerly used only by large groups, the software was quickly fine-tuned in line with technological developments. And now?
Today, we are able to offer genuine digital governance solutions to the Legal Departments of all sizes of companies. These digital tools are not only capable of automating a large number of processes covering all the legal aspects of business, but can also calculate and anticipate legal risks.
Definition of Legaltech
LegalTech refers to the software, platforms, and digital tools that in-house legal teams use to digitize, standardize, and control their work across:
Overall, these elements all contribute to better corporate compliance and governance, especially when combined all together in one single tool. For the General Counsel and their teams, it means replacing fragmented, manual processes with structured systems that provide visibility, consistency, and control at scale.
Unlike consumer-facing legal services, LegalTech built for legal departments is designed to operate across complex organizational structures.
What is in LegalTech?
Legal technology has evolved a lot since its early beginnings in the 90’s. Back then most service providers offered distinct tools for distinct goals. We can now say these solutions cover at least one or multiple of the legal activities listed below:
As a result, legal teams but not exclusively, as we will see later in the article can handle different facets of legal and governance tasks with a unified and clear vision, sometimes even with real-time updates. It all contributes to building a more structured and easier way to work cross-functionally, and it has transformed the role of legal counsel.
How LegalTech has changed the game for the GC
Legal teams and the GC have a lot to take from LegalTech, among the main benefits are:
But LegalTech does not stop there. Nowadays, CLMs, LEMs and board management tools help other departments such as finance, compliance, or sales.
Beyond legal teams: a tool for all teams
We tend to think that LegalTechs are only designed for in-house legal teams, however, this scope reduces the real capabilities of a strong legal tool. Different use cases portray how legal technology enables teams beyond the legal deparmtment:
The sales deal scenario
Sales teams negotiate high-value contracts where speed and compliance must align. Contract lifecycle management tools let sales reps initiate agreements using pre-approved templates and route them through automated workflows. Legal maintains oversight, sales moves faster, and finance gets earlier revenue recognition with fewer last-minute bottlenecks.
The last minute compliance filing
Compliance officers face tight regulatory deadlines across multiple jurisdictions. Legal entity management systems centralize subsidiary data, corporate documents, and filing calendars. Compliance teams pull what they need, verify accuracy, and meet deadlines without scrambling through spreadsheets. Legal oversight stays intact while compliance and finance shift from reactive to structured.
The decentralized board meeting
Board members and corporate secretaries no longer need to gather in one location with paper binders. Board management platforms enable secure distribution of board packs and real-time collaboration across countries and time zones. Directors access materials from any device, corporate secretaries manage the process with full audit trails, and legal ensures version control and confidentiality. International governance becomes transparent and efficient without sacrificing security.
LegalTech at the age of AI
Artificial intelligence is not new to legal technology, but its role has shifted. Early AI applications focused on automating repetitive tasks like document review or contract analysis. Today, AI is embedded at the platform level, enabling smarter workflows, predictive insights, and contextual recommendations that adapt to how legal teams actually work. AI has moved from being a feature to part of the LegalTech infrastructure as it is now fully integrated within tools. It can now connect insights across contracts, entities, matters, and governance. That interconnected intelligence is what allows legal teams to see the full picture and act on it with confidence.
Frequently asked questions about legal tools
How is LegalTech different from “legal operations” or a “legal ERP”?
Legal operations is the discipline of running a legal department efficiently, it encompasses people, processes, technology, and data. LegalTech is the technology layer that makes legal operations possible. A legal ERP takes this further: it is an integrated platform that connects all legal functions — contracts, entities, matters, governance — into a single system of record, much like an ERP does for finance or HR. LegalTech tools can be point solutions or part of a broader legal ERP architecture.
What are examples of LegalTech tools used by in-house teams?
Common examples include contract management platforms (for drafting, negotiation, and obligation tracking), legal entity management systems (for subsidiary governance and compliance), matter management tools (for tracking cases and external counsel), board portals (for secure governance workflows), virtual datarooms (for M&A and due diligence), and legal intake tools (for managing internal requests to the legal team). Some platforms, such as DiliTrust, integrate several of these capabilities into a unified suite.
What is the best LegalTech solution?
While there is no universal answer, it is believed today that the best solution is the one that connects all your needs in a single space. The best tool depends on your legal department’s structure, priorities, and pain points. Some teams need deep contract automation. Others require entity management across dozens of subsidiaries or board governance tools that support complex compliance requirements. What matters most is whether the platform addresses your actual workflows, integrates with your existing systems, and scales as your organization grows.
Last but not least, your tools will only be as good as your information and data. As much as digitalizing, automating, and enhancing processes with AI will help, the most important part is to begin with strong information governance foundations to see real results.
Choosing the right tool and partner
The most important criteria are scope of coverage (does it address your actual pain points across contracts, entities, and governance?), integration capability (can it connect with your existing systems?), security and compliance standards (particularly for cross-border data), ease of adoption across legal and non-legal users, and the vendor’s ability to support your team over time. A platform that consolidates multiple functions tends to deliver more consistent data and fewer operational gaps than a collection of disconnected point solutions.
The best of corporate governance with DiliTrust
Although 20 years ago, LegalTech essentially dealt with corporate law information and was primarily targeted at larger companies, its missions and target public are now adaptable to a much wider audience. The solutions are no longer limited to software; they involve full SaaS collaborative platforms adaptable to all kinds of national or international companies, both SMEs and medium-sized SMIs. All the legal fields of corporate law have their own tailor-made solutions: management of authorisations and delegations, contracts, litigation, real estate, intellectual property, and so on.
DiliTrust solution is the perfect example. It is primarily designed for Legal Departments, to help them automate production of their legal documents and connect their different departments. We have also integrated a legal consultation function, where employees of a group can directly ask a legal question on a dedicated private portal. Using intelligent algorithms, in-house lawyers can anticipate the risks of litigation better. This kind of LegalTech has increased practical benefits for legal departments. The procedures are automated and therefore much simpler, plus it reduces costs significantly. By freeing up Legal Departments from certain tasks, in-house lawyers can devote more time to important cases. The use of machine learning and the forecasts tracked by the algorithms also helps with pre-litigation planning and reducing lawyers’ fees.
