Last week during the ILTA (International Legal Technology Association) Annual Conference the 2013 Technology Purchasing Survey results were revealed. The 2013 survey added responses from the ILTA member firms with 1-49 attorneys (referred to as Under50) in addition to the 50+ attorneys (referred to as the Over50). There were 223 unique responses including 60% from ILTA member law firms with more than 50 attorneys.

48% of all respondents (including 56% of Over50 firms) spend 2-4% of total firm revenue on technology, compared to 25% who spend 5% of revenue or more.

The ‘sweet spot’ for per attorney technology spend, $8K-17K, accounts for 43% while 18% of respondents indicated a per attorney technology spend of more than $17K+. 60% of all Under50 respondents spend less than $8,000 per attorney on technology compared to only 26% of Over50 firms.

43% of Under50 firms indicated their budgets remained the same and 39% cited budget increases versus 2012. However, budget realities were not as rosy for Over50 firms; 24% indicated having decreased budgets versus 15% in 2012. 45% of Over50 firms (7% less than in 2012) cited budget increases.

The 2013 Survey also includes comprehensive breakout of past and future technology purchases and implementations; legal technology budget and purchasing influence questions; updated information on participants’ social media, publication and blog preferences; and an in-depth analysis of mobility trends including tablet usage and governance, firm app policies, and insight into how IT will deal with big data.

>>> Read the full 2013 Survey
>>> Follow the InsideLegal blog for snippets from the survey