I laughed, I cried, it was significantly worse than Cats.
That just about sums up consumer reactions to the pitch decks legislation corporations slap collectively manually. A grand farce draped within the delusion of technique, constructed on methods that make even the DMV appear to be an agile startup.
The State of Proposal Technology and Enterprise Improvement in Regulation Corporations for 2025, put collectively by Ikaun, examined the RFP course of and found a slow-moving pageant of legacy instruments, tribal fiefdoms, and job duplication. And it cuts throughout the business, with respondents drawn roughly 1 / 4 from every the Am Regulation 100, Second Hundred, NLJ 500, and past.
As company authorized departments elevate expectations – 70% now demand quicker, extra tailor-made RFP responses, up from 56% in 2022 – legislation corporations are below strain to reply with better pace, precision, and professionalism. But many stay caught in inefficient, outdated processes that harm their skill to compete.
For Act I, we have now “Guide Labor As Efficiency Artwork.”
In keeping with the report, 79 p.c of legislation agency proposal workflows are “totally or principally handbook.” The preferred device for placing collectively proposals is… Microsoft Phrase? Apparently, 46 p.c of corporations are nonetheless cranking out proposals in Microsoft Phrase and I can solely assume the opposite 54 p.c are in Phrase Good. Phrase is a superbly tremendous phrase processor, however successful enterprise isn’t a constrained by native guidelines.
Unsurprisingly, respondents weren’t happy with their expertise whereas remaining dedicated to doing the identical factor again and again and anticipating a special outcome. That’s purported to be the definition of a psychopath, nevertheless it applies to legislation corporations.
On second thought… that may observe.
Transferring to Act II: “The Secret Backyard Of Bypassed Instruments.”
Regardless of corporations spending hefty sums on tech, 68 p.c of customers mentioned they bypass these instruments fully. Whether or not it’s a product of cussed, luddite customers or ill-suited, clunky tech, the theme is a misalignment.
Like several good play, we now introduce Chekov’s Massive Language Mannequin. The one factor corporations agree on greater than doing proposals from scratch like a center college guide report diorama, it’s that AI will swoop in to save lots of them. A whopping 84 p.c mentioned “AI and automation will form the following period of proposal era.”
On to Act III: “They Don’t Get Off The Island.”
Each episode of Gilligan’s Island needed to finish with our castaways failing to get off the island. Why did Zsa Zsa get to go away and why didn’t she ship again assist? Don’t ask such questions. The purpose is the treadmill should proceed and the crew should stay on the island till the inevitable made-for-TV reunion backdoor mushy reboot pilot.
For our present functions, this implies corporations sad with their tech and pining for AI should preserve doing what they’re doing till the warmth dying of the universe. The survey reveals that almost all corporations spend extra time assembling proposals than bettering how they suggest. That’s an issue as a result of integrating the AI instruments that all of them anticipate to save lots of them would require devoting some critical time to arising with a greater course of. AI with out a vetted course of is income stream chatroulette.
And that’s not helped when proposal possession is itself a fractured mess. Does Advertising run it. Form of? Enterprise Improvement? Additionally sure. Relationship companions? Why the hell not?
What corporations want isn’t just higher templates. They want an infrastructure shift: one that allows real-time collaboration, correct knowledge reuse, and scalable supply fashions. As authorized procurement turns into extra refined, proposal era should evolve from a tactical job right into a strategic development engine.
Corporations want to offer their groups the time to make the leap. The chance to rewrite the playbook is there, nevertheless it takes human effort to construct a plan that provides AI a possibility to contribute in a helpful method or it’s simply a pc enjoying Mad Libs with the agency’s future. With out a plan, the AI everybody’s hoping will go off within the third act will find yourself one other disappointing device individuals bypass as they churn out one thing satisfactory in Phrase to maintain the lights on.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Regulation and co-host of Pondering Like A Lawyer. Be happy to electronic mail any ideas, questions, or feedback. Observe him on Twitter or Bluesky when you’re desirous about legislation, politics, and a wholesome dose of faculty sports activities information. Joe additionally serves as a Managing Director at RPN Government Search.
