Research & Guides
The legal industry is changing rapidly. From AI and cloud adoption to evolving client expectations and new ways of working, law firms are facing more technology decisions than ever before.
Our resource centre brings together original research, industry analysis, comparisons, practical guides and expert commentary to help you make informed decisions and stay ahead of the trends shaping the future of legal services.
Explore the resources below.

Mind the delivery gap
This report explores whether mid-sized UK law firms have the operational foundations required to turn growth ambitions into reality.
The findings reveal a sector that is optimistic, ambitious and increasingly open to change. However, many firms still face a growing gap between the future they want to build and their ability to execute that vision consistently.

Progress VS platform
The 2026 LPM Frontiers Report, sponsored by Tessaract, provides a unique snapshot of the priorities, challenges and technology strategies shaping the future of the legal sector. Our commentary explores the key findings, from accelerating cloud adoption and growing investment in AI to the persistent challenges of legacy systems, poor integration and limited operational visibility. We look beyond the statistics to help law firm leaders understand what these trends mean for their firm, where the biggest opportunities lie and how to turn technology investment into measurable business outcomes.

Legal practice management software buyer's guide
Choosing legal practice management software is one of the biggest technology decisions a law firm will make. This guide explains what modern legal practice management software should include, compares cloud-native and legacy systems, highlights essential features, outlines migration considerations and provides a practical checklist to help UK law firms make the right decision.

Comparing cloud options for your practice management software
Choosing the right platform for your law firm starts with understanding the differences between legacy, cloud-based and cloud-native legal practice management software. This guide explores how each approach impacts security, scalability, integrations, remote working, AI readiness and long-term operational efficiency. We cut through the jargon to help law firm leaders evaluate their options, understand the trade-offs and choose a technology foundation that supports future growth.

The common legal processes law firms automate
Legal process automation helps law firms reduce repetitive administration, improve consistency and give lawyers more time to focus on client work. This practical guide explores the five common legal processes every firm should automate using modern practice management software, including client onboarding, time recording, document management, billing and matter workflows.

9 signs your firm has outgrown its PMS
As a law firm grows, the systems that once supported it can begin to create unnecessary work, limit visibility and make further growth more difficult.
This guide outlines the practical signs that your firm may have outgrown its legal practice management software, with questions to help your leadership, finance, operations and IT teams decide whether it is time to explore a new system.

Moving from legacy software, to modern software - a buyers guide
Legacy practice management software can slow down your team, create disconnected workflows and make it harder to deliver a consistent client experience. Moving to modern software can improve efficiency, visibility and scalability, but a successful transition requires more than replacing one system with another.
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Legal tech insights from the Tessaract team

Mid-size law firms flock to the cloud: Why cloud native software is now your best bet
The legal sector is entering a new phase of digital transformation. What was once considered a gradual shift toward cloud technology has now become a clear industry movement.
Mike Hinchliffe

What is legal practice management software and what should it actually do?
Choosing legal practice management software is one of the most important technology decisions a law firm can make. Yet many firms still evaluate systems based on feature lists alone.
Beth Crease

Is technology becoming a deciding factor for potential employees?
Recruiting and retaining talent remains a persistent challenge for mid-size law firms. They are competing with larger firms that can often offer higher salaries, structured career progression, and more established remote working options.
Mike Hinchliffe

What processes are mid-market law firms automating and where should you start?
One of the greatest benefits of modernising your practice management software is the ability to automate more processes across your firm. Automation helps streamline operations, eliminate workarounds, and reduce manual tasks that otherwise occupy fee earners and support staff’s precious and often, expensive time.
Mike Hinchliffe

Building the perfect tech ecosystem: Why a best-of-breed stack often beats the all-in-one myth
It’s easy to understand the appeal of the one ring to rule them all software: one partner, one login, one support contact, one magic piece of kit that delivers everything you ever wanted…
Mike Hinchliffe

The hidden cost of workarounds. How legacy legal practice management systems are quietly holding your law firm back
A workaround is a temporary fix to a process that's been used by permanent staff for years. It’s when three systems, two spreadsheets and a very patient person do the job of one piece of software.
Robin Davies

Beyond features: How to choose legal practice management software that delivers real outcomes
When it’s time to choose a new Practice Management System (PMS), it’s tempting to start with a checklist of features. Every demo looks impressive, every vendor promises the world — and before long, you’re comparing dashboards instead of results.
Robin Davies

Is your legal Practice Management Software holding your SME law firm back? 16 questions to make sure your PMS is pulling its weight
Before diving headlong into new legal practice management software, it’s probably a good idea to first gauge if your PMS is in line with modern standards and expectations to highlight any glaring challenges worth worrying about.
Robin Davies

Essential types of analytics and reports for your law firm's success
According to “Big Data: The Management Revolution” by Andrew AcAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson, the success of a business depends largely on how it is able to collect, process and interpret data from a multitude of sources. Due to this, organisations are now using technological tools to explore how their data can be used for good. One such essential technological tool in the legal industry is analytics and reports.

Demystifying data migration, it’s not as scary as you might think
In our discussions with SME firm leaders, nervousness around the daunting challenge of data migration–or so it is perceived to be–is often the reason given for not considering a move away from a legacy legal Practice Management System (PMS) to a cloud-native solution.
Mike Hinchliffe