Ed. note: This article first appeared in an ILTA publication.
When law firms discuss technology adoption, the spotlight typically falls on lawyers or partners as the primary decision-makers whose buy-in determines a rollout’s level of success. However, the support of a different type of legal professional is equally critical for ensuring successful, long-term technology adoption: administrative professionals.
Admins often serve as the quiet bridge holding all the moving parts of a law firm (and its clientele) together. With unique insight into the workflows of different practice groups and office culture, they understand how both non-partner attorneys and partners operate, and where those workflows intersect. Their interdepartmental perspective makes them natural connectors who can spot adoption challenges long before they become firmwide frustrations.
The Nuance of Generational Shifts
One nuanced observation in conversations about multi-generational legal workspaces is that younger attorneys today are more independent than their predecessors. They rely less on administrative support staff. They draft their own documents, manage their calendars, and navigate systems independently. This shift, however, does not mean that admin staff are any less vital. Partners and associates alike still take cues from trusted staff who normalize new workflows.
At the same time, a new generation of administrative professionals is entering the legal sector. Many are navigating evolving expectations in their roles, balancing traditional support functions with new responsibilities tied to technology, process efficiency, and client service. Just as younger attorneys are redefining how support looks in legal practices, these new administrative professionals are redefining how support is delivered, and when empowered with training and visibility, they can become powerful allies in driving adoption.
Why Administrative Professionals Matter in Adoption
Administrative professionals sit in a unique position within law firms. They sit at the intersection of workflows, practice groups, and attorney levels, giving them a unique perspective that is invaluable during a rollout.
• Workflow Insight: Admins understand the nuances of how different practice groups operate. A litigation secretary knows the pressure of tight filing deadlines, while a corporate secretary might focus on version control in long drafting cycles. These insights enable them to quickly identify areas where a new system may cause friction and help mitigate it.
• Bridging Non-Partner Attorneys and Partners: Admin staff often see both sides. They understand what partners prioritize (client demands, efficiency, risk reduction) and what associates juggle (billable hours, document-heavy workflows, balancing learning with output). This dual perspective positions them to bridge adoption gaps.
• Trusted Influencers: Attorneys, especially partners, often lean on their secretaries for day-to-day processes. If an admin embraces a new tool, the attorneys they support are more likely to follow suit.
Administrative professionals also bring a diverse range of experience to the table. Seasoned administrative staff carry an institutional memory of “how things really get done” across practice groups, making them invaluable when new technologies disrupt long-standing processes. Meanwhile, the new generation of administrative professionals entering firms is often more comfortable with technology while also navigating changing expectations for their roles.
When firms empower both groups, valuing the wisdom of experienced staff while equipping newer professionals with tools to grow into evolving roles, they create a stronger bridge for technology adoption that works across generations and practice groups.
Challenges When Admins Are Overlooked
Unfortunately, administrators are often the last to know about the newest tech tools decision makers choose to implement at their firm. They must adjust on the fly, support attorneys immediately, and keep workflows moving, all without having been appropriately included in the planning. This approach creates two significant issues:
1. Change Fatigue: Admin professionals are constantly adapting to new processes and technologies. Without context or support, every rollout can feel like just “one more thing,” which kills morale and buy-in.
2. Missed Opportunity: By excluding admins, law firms lose the chance to leverage their insight into practice group workflows. The result? Adoption strategies that miss the mark for different groups or, worse, inconsistent adoption across the firm.
The business impact is real. If an attorney struggles with a new system and their admin isn’t confident in it either, frustration builds quickly. Missed deadlines, duplication of effort, and resistance to future rollouts all stem from this gap.
How Firms Can Empower Admin Staff
Here are practical, real-world strategies firms can use to position administrative professionals as technology adoption champions:
Admin Inclusion in Pilot Groups
• Action: Before firmwide rollouts, include secretaries and paralegals in pilot testing alongside attorneys.
• Impact: Provides admins with early exposure, enabling them to anticipate both partner and non-partner workflows and position themselves as trusted go-to resources as adoption scales.
• Example: Secretaries who piloted a new DMS became the primary point of support for attorneys, significantly easing the rollout.
Feedback Loops with Practice Groups
• Action: Create structured channels for admins to share adoption challenges by practice group.
• Impact: Surfaces workflow differences early, ensuring adoption strategies feel relevant across the firm.
• Example: Set up quarterly meetings where attorneys and admin staff share what’s working, what’s not, with new tools.
Recognition and Visibility
• Action: Highlight administrative professionals who model adoption in firm newsletters, town halls, or rollout communications.
• Impact: Sends a clear message that admins are valued partners in change, encouraging others to follow their lead.
• Example: Spotlight secretaries as “tech champion” during a DMS rollout, boosting morale and motivating peers to adopt faster.
Together, these strategies shift admins from being “reactors” to becoming drivers of adoption.
Stronger, Sustainable Adoption
When firms leverage administrative professionals as champions of change, adoption rates improve and change becomes more sustainable. Why?
• Consistency: Admins help establish standardization across practice groups by reinforcing best practices daily.
• Efficiency: Lawyers at all levels benefit when the staff who manage workflows are confident and equipped.
• Inclusivity: Recognizing administrative staff as adoption partners fosters a culture of shared responsibility, rather than placing all the burden on lawyers.
• Resiliency: When admins are trusted champions, they are more willing to support future rollouts, reducing resistance and smoothing the path for ongoing innovation.
The reality is this: technology adoption in law firms is never just about the tool itself. It’s about people, and the people who often make the difference are those behind the scenes, keeping workflows moving no matter what’s thrown at them.
Conclusion
For too long, the conversation around technology adoption has centered on attorneys and partners. However, adoption does not occur in a vacuum; it takes place within the day-to-day workflows that administrative staff are most familiar with.
By bringing them into the conversation early and recognizing their impact, firms can transform admin staff from passive supporters into active strategists. They become the bridge between partners and non-partners, between practice groups, and ultimately between resistance and adoption.
So in your next rollout, do not just train attorneys and hope adoption sticks. Empower the professionals who keep the workflows running. Because when admin staff move from support to strategy, everybody wins.
Michelle Zaman is a Senior Technology Trainer at Morrison Foerster LLP (MoFo), where she leads firmwide learning initiatives that drive technology adoption and innovation. Her background in instructional design brings strategic insight to the creation of people-centered learning experiences. She leverages generational diversity to drive legal innovation and enhance law firms’ long-term sustainability. Michelle recently joined ILTA’s NextGen Legal Innovators Advisory Group to support and mentor the next generation of legal technology professionals.
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