Should You Buy a CRM for Your Law Firm in 2025?
If I were answering this question a decade ago, I would have launched into an enthusiastic pitch about how CRMs are the saviour of professional services and how law firms desperately need them. But times have changed, technology has evolved, and my answer in 2025 is a rather emphatic “No.”
Actually, that’s not quite accurate. My answer is “Almost certainly not,” which is a more nuanced position. Let me explain why.
The Uncomfortable Truth About CRMs in Law Firms
Law firms have been buying CRMs for years now. The industry has spent billions on platforms that promise to revolutionise client relationships, streamline business development, and generally make everyone rich and happy. Yet the success rate is appalling.
In my experience working with law firms across three continents, the vast majority are now sitting on expensive CRM graveyards. They’ve become digital wastelands of outdated contacts, incomplete data, and abandoned automation workflows that nobody remembers how to operate.
Why is this the case? There are three fundamental reasons:
1. Most Law Firms Barely Use Their CRMs
Even with the most sophisticated, user-friendly CRMs on the market, most law firms only ever scratch the surface of functionality. They’re buying Ferraris to drive to the corner shop.
The data suggests that even in firms with “successful” CRM implementations, they’re typically using just 10-20% of the platform’s capabilities. The rest sits dormant, a monument to technological optimism that never materialised.
This isn’t necessarily the fault of the firms or the software. It’s simply that most CRMs are designed for businesses that operate very differently from law firms.
Law firms are relationship businesses built on highly specialised knowledge work. Partners already have their own systems—however rudimentary—for managing client relationships. A senior partner who’s been nurturing client relationships for 30 years doesn’t suddenly start logging every client interaction into a CRM because the managing partner sent around an email about “our exciting new system.”
2. There’s No Clear Integration Plan or Champion
I’ve yet to meet a law firm that has properly thought through CRM implementation before signing the contract. The typical approach goes something like this:
1. Management decides they need a CRM
2. They evaluate a few options based on features they think they need
3. They purchase the one with the best sales pitch
4. They assign implementation to IT or marketing
5. Nobody takes ownership of adoption
6. The project slowly dies
A successful CRM implementation requires at least two critical roles that law firms rarely assign effectively:
First, you need a technical integration manager who understands how the CRM should connect with your practice management system, document management, email, and other platforms.
Second—and more importantly—you need a cultural adoption champion with enough political capital to drive behavioural change among partners. This person needs to understand the internal politics, have the authority to set expectations, and be able to demonstrate how the CRM actually makes fee-earners’ lives better.
Without both roles properly filled, your CRM is dead on arrival.
3. AI Is Changing Everything
This is where the landscape gets truly interesting. The rapid evolution of AI, particularly AI agents, means law firms no longer need to choose between clunky off-the-shelf CRMs and building something from scratch.
With tools like Cursor, Bolt, Replit, Loveable, Make and dozens of others emerging every month, firms can now design, build and deploy custom tools that meet their specific objectives—often with seamless integration into existing practice management software.
The legal industry is about to experience an explosion of single-purpose software built on the fly—tools that do one or two things exceptionally well. This means you don’t need to invest in a bloated CRM platform with hundreds of features you’ll never use.
Instead, firms can identify specific pain points—client intake, relationship tracking, business development, matter management—and build targeted solutions for each. These solutions can be deployed, tested, and improved in weeks rather than the months or years traditional CRM implementations require.
What Should Law Firms Do Instead?
If not a CRM, then what? Here’s my three-step approach:
Step 1: Be Honest About What You Actually Need
Most law firms don’t need a comprehensive CRM. They need solutions to specific problems:
- Managing the intake process for new clients
- Tracking relationships with key contacts
- Identifying cross-selling opportunities
- Automating follow-ups and nurture sequences
- Monitoring business development activities
Start by identifying which of these (or other) problems is actually hurting your firm. Don’t try to solve everything at once.
Step 2: Consider Building Instead of Buying
With modern AI tools and low-code/no-code platforms, building custom solutions is more accessible than ever. This doesn’t mean you need to hire a team of developers—many solutions can be built using existing platforms and integration tools.
For example, rather than deploying a full CRM, you might:
- Create automated intake workflows using Microsoft Power Automate
- Build custom dashboards in your existing practice management system
- Develop AI agents that analyse client communication patterns
- Create targeted automation for specific practice areas
The beauty of this approach is that you can start small, demonstrate value, and expand gradually.
Step 3: Focus on Adoption, Not Features
Whatever solution you choose—whether it’s a targeted CRM module or a custom-built tool—the key to success is adoption. This means:
- Involving end users in the design process
- Creating clear, compelling reasons for people to use the system
- Making it as frictionless as possible
- Providing proper training and support
- Measuring and celebrating success
Remember that any system, no matter how sophisticated, is only as good as its adoption rate. A simple solution that everyone uses is infinitely more valuable than a comprehensive one that sits idle.
When a CRM Might Actually Make Sense
There are, of course, exceptions to my general advice against CRMs. You might consider a CRM if:
1. You’re a highly process-driven firm with standardised services and clear sales cycles
2. You have strong management consensus and the political will to drive adoption
3. You’ve identified specific CRM functionality that directly addresses your most pressing needs
4. You have the resources to properly implement and maintain the system
5. You’ve assessed AI alternatives and found them wanting
Even then, I’d recommend starting with the minimum viable product—the simplest solution that solves your most immediate problems—rather than going all-in on a comprehensive platform.
The Bottom Line
The truth is that most law firms would be better off identifying specific challenges and building targeted solutions rather than investing in a comprehensive CRM they’ll barely use. The rapid advancement of AI and custom development tools makes this approach more viable than ever.
The law firms that will succeed in client relationship management aren’t those with the most sophisticated CRMs—they’re the ones that understand their unique needs and build solutions that people actually use.
So before you sign that CRM contract, ask yourself: Do we really need this, or are we just buying it because everyone else seems to have one? The answer might save you a lot of money and frustration.