Resource guide
How to read legal tech trends reports
A precise percentage can still be weak evidence. Keep population, date, wording and limitation beside every number. Use this worksheet when a trends report, survey or market statistic is about to influence a firm decision.
Boundary: this is evidence-appraisal guidance, not a comment on any specific report, and not legal advice.
Operational guidance, not legal advice. No confidential information is needed. This page combines nineteen original ClickoAI reading guides (2016-2026 trends series, solo/small-firm and mid-sized editions, and state-of-legal-tech editions) into one maintained worksheet; every original PDF stays available: guides 05, 10, 11, 14, 21, 24, 28, 33, 43, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 (all v1, 18 Aug 2026).
1. Frame the decision
A precise percentage can still be weak evidence. Keep population, date, wording and limitation beside every number.
Specific focus - pick the line that matches your situation:
- Appraising a report: test population, jurisdiction, date and measures against the firm's own decision.
- Appraising a single claim: classify each claim and limit reliance to what its evidence supports.
Questions to answer:
- Who was studied?
- When and how was data collected?
- Is this outcome, opinion or forecast?
- Are denominator and wording available?
Avoid:
- lifting a headline without denominator
- combining jurisdictions silently
- treating adoption as value
2. Control sheet
Treat a blank evidence field as a reason to pause, not a reason to guess.
| Area | Evidence to collect | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Jurisdiction, role and size | Matches decision |
| Method | Sample, dates and wording | Collection is clear |
| Measure | Numerator, denominator and period | Claim is reconstructable |
| Limit | Bias and missing groups | Limitation travels |
| Use | Decision and alternatives | Reliance is proportionate |
Fail closed: if an input, owner or approval is missing, record the gap and keep the affected step outside the proposed change.
3. Working record
Complete this page with named sources. Do not include client names, matter names, contract text or privileged material.
| Field | Evidence or answer |
|---|---|
| Claim | |
| Original source | |
| Population | |
| Collection date | |
| Method | |
| Limitation |
Evidence quality check:
- The source is named and dated.
- An estimate is labelled as an estimate.
- The owner can reproduce the measure.
- The same method can be used after a change.
4. Decision record
Select the outcome that the evidence supports. A stop or no-change decision is valid.
- Stop: a required source, owner or approval is missing.
- Fix: repair the underlying route before adding technology or cost.
- Test: run one bounded change with a baseline and review date.
- Proceed: adopt only the option supported by the recorded evidence.
| Decision field | Record |
|---|---|
| Chosen outcome | |
| Reason and evidence | |
| Owner and approvers | |
| Review or expiry date |
Related pages: the failure modes of legal AI research (/insights/legal-ai-research-failure-modes/), the practical guide (/resources/practical-guide-to-legal-ai/), the opportunity map (/resources/law-firm-ai-opportunity-map/) and the Readiness Score (/readiness/).
Primary sources
- Law Society - Introduction to lawtech: lawsociety.org.uk
- Law Society - How to use lawtech in your practice: lawsociety.org.uk
- Law Society - Buying new technology: lawsociety.org.uk
- SRA - Compliance tips for solicitors on AI and technology: sra.org.uk
Source status: links checked 15 September 2026 (SRA compliance tips verified live 200; Law Society pages block automated fetch with 403 but are indexed - confirm by hand before relying). Confirm the current version and obtain appropriate professional advice before relying on regulated, contractual, privacy, security, insurance, financial or wellbeing conclusions.
MARGO LEGAL LTD, company number 17322603. Registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 66 Paul Street, London, England, EC2A 4NA. Originally published as nineteen PDF reading guides (v1, 18 August 2026); consolidated and converted to HTML 15 September 2026.