By Natalie Appleton, VP Workplace
Law firms depend on precision and efficiency to be successful with clients, yet the same principles aren’t always applied to their workplace systems. After working with dozens of firms over the past decade, I’ve seen the same frustration again and again: incredible legal minds slowed down by fragmented, redundant, and costly workplace technology. This isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a direct drain on productivity and profitability.
Just this week, I had discussions with six different law firms, each with 8 to 20 locations, and all shared the same pain point. They were using one system for conference room booking, another for desks and offices, and Outlook—plus forms or phone calls—to manage services like A/V and catering. The main objective for these firms was to find a single solution for booking all space types that integrates directly with Outlook.
Consolidating the tech stack is a major focus right now. When firms can achieve a better user experience from one solution and eliminate redundant systems, everyone wins, from finance and associates to conference services and hospitality teams.
Industry Data Reveals Widespread Tech Challenges
This trend isn’t just anecdotal. Industry data highlights a clear and costly problem.
- The American Bar Association’s 2024 Legal Technology Survey reports that, while law firms continue to adopt new software at a rapid pace, integration remains a key challenge.
- A Bloomberg Law 2024 Legal Ops & Tech Survey found that a staggering 86% of legal-tech professionals cite security or data concerns when managing multiple platforms.
- The Oomnitza 2023 SaaS Management Snapshot revealed that 50% of enterprises overspend by at least 10% of their budget on software each year.
In law firms, this kind of redundancy is compounded by the use of specialized, disconnected tools for scheduling, visitor management, catering, and space analytics.
Why It Matters: The Real Cost of Fragmentation
The impact of a disjointed tech stack extends far beyond software subscription fees. It affects productivity, space utilization, and even your firm’s security posture.
1. Time and Productivity Loss
Multiple logins, manual room booking processes, and conflicting schedules create significant administrative overhead. With 45% of law firm employees now working on flexible schedules, efficient coordination of meeting rooms and workspaces is critical. When booking space is difficult, valuable time is lost on administrative tasks instead of billable work.
2. Space Inefficiency
While most law firm offices now see utilization above 50%, many are still carrying underused square footage. Without integrated analytics, it’s nearly impossible to understand how your space is truly being used. This lack of insight prevents firms from making data-driven decisions about their real estate portfolio, which has allowed some firms to reduce their overall square footage by 25% to 50% through hybrid policies.
3. Security and Compliance Risks
Disparate tools create inconsistent access control and siloed data, increasing the risk of information leakage. With 86% of legal-tech leaders citing security as a top concern when managing multiple platforms, the risk associated with a fragmented system cannot be ignored. A unified platform provides a single point of control, simplifying security management and ensuring compliance.
How Leading Law Firms Are Responding
Forward-thinking firms are moving away from assigned desks toward dynamic collaboration hubs, and they are investing in workplace analytics to guide these changes. By adopting an integrated workplace platform, they gain a suite of powerful capabilities from a single source.
Benefits include:
- Centralized desk and room booking: A single, intuitive interface for all space reservations.
- Unified service requests: Integrated workflows for ordering catering, IT support, and other facility services.
- Actionable space usage data: Clear analytics to optimize real estate and resources.
- Simplified administration: Just one system to manage, reducing IT overhead and training time.
Our law firm clients tell us they want to make the experience of booking space easy and accessible within the tools their users already live in, like Microsoft 365 and Exchange. The ability to book a conference room—complete with services, attendees, and a video conferencing link—via mobile, an interactive floorplan, or directly in Outlook, and have it all sync to Exchange, brings together previously siloed systems.
One client shared that space usage increased 100% immediately after consolidating tools, simply because booking became easier. The booking process is now part of new-hire onboarding, and associates appreciate being able to self-serve without calling reception. If they need space on the conference center floor, they can use the platform to put in their request, allowing reception and conference services to confirm the space and ensure clients receive the white-glove service the firm is built on. All the back-and-forth of calls and emails is mitigated, so each team can focus on tasks that truly require their attention.
A Law Firm Success Story: Consolidating Tools for a Better Experience
I recently worked with another prominent firm that was struggling with a classic case of tech fragmentation. They had one system for room booking, a separate sign-up sheet for flexible desks, and a manual email process for catering. The result was confusion, double bookings, and frustrated staff.
When the firm consolidated these functions into a single workplace experience platform, the improvements were immediate. Employees can now book a desk, reserve a meeting room, and order catering in a single, seamless transaction from their mobile device or Outlook calendar. The firm also installed meeting room panels outside each room, making it easy to see availability at a glance or even book a room on the spot.
The anecdotal feedback from employees was overwhelmingly positive. Associates praised the “self-serve” convenience, and administrative staff reported saving hours each week. More importantly, the firm gained clear visibility into how its spaces were being used, which empowered them to make smarter decisions about their office layout and future real estate needs. It was a clear demonstration of how simplifying technology directly translates to a better workplace experience.
Building the Business Case for a Unified Platform
Consolidating tools is not just about convenience; it’s a strategic business decision. Gartner’s 2024 Market Guide for Workplace Experience Applications confirms that organizations are moving toward “fewer, more integrated platforms” to enhance the employee experience.
Law firms that adopt data-driven workplace platforms can:
- Track real-time utilization to make informed real estate decisions.
- Optimize hybrid schedules to support collaboration and flexibility.
- Deliver a consistent, high-quality experience across all office locations.
This unified approach reduces friction, sharpens insight, and gives leaders the clarity they need to plan with confidence.
Key Takeaways
- Fragmentation costs more than software fees—it wastes time, space, and talent.
- Law firms are modernizing quickly, driven by hybrid work models and client expectations for digital collaboration.
- Unified workplace experience platforms are becoming essential for managing the complexity of modern legal operations and creating a more efficient, productive environment.
By simplifying your tech stack, you can eliminate hidden costs, empower your teams, and position your firm for future success. Explore smarter workplace solutions with one of our legal industry experts today.
About Authors
Natalie Appleton is a workplace experience leader with nearly two decades of expertise in space and meeting management. As Vice President of Workplace at Korbyt, she draws on her work with more than 150 global clients to shape strategies that simplify how people connect with spaces and resources. Natalie earned her MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2006. She remains active in the professional community through IFMA, ILTA, InfoComm, AVIXA, and WorkTech, contributing to the ongoing conversation on facility management, space utilization, and the future of work.
