From support to strategy: Why Legal and IT are better together

Takeaways from the 2025 Foundry MarketPulse survey of senior IT leaders

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Andy Teichholz

August 29, 20254 min read

Legal and IT have lived parallel lives, with separate goals, separate languages, and often, separate strategies. With growing pressure to modernize and adopt emerging technologies, those silos are becoming less tenable.  

A recent Foundry MarketPulse survey of over 200 senior IT leaders1 provides insight into the new alliance that is forming: 84% say they play a critical or important role in supporting the legal department’s strategy, especially when it comes to technologies like generative AI (GenAI). More than half are leading digital transformation initiatives for Legal.   

Here are five takeaways from that research, and what they signal about the evolving state of Legal-IT collaboration

Legal department transformation does not succeed in isolation. 61% of respondents support all phases of legal digital transformation, and more than half (54%) lead these efforts—helping to select vendors, map solutions to existing infrastructure, and evaluate ROI. 

It’s not just about technology implementation; it’s about sustainable innovation. This level of collaboration enables Legal and IT to develop roadmaps that optimize operations and align with the enterprise’s overall goals.  

Still, collaboration is not universal: 14% say they only get involved when migrating to or deploying on the cloud, and 11% report minimal interaction despite recognizing the need. This gap suggests room for improvement in strategic alignment. 

IT helps align automation to deliver results   

Automation without alignment is just noise. Workflow automation requires a comprehensive evaluation of tools to support key activities and processes—such as legal hold or document review.  

IT brings the knowledge to identify automation opportunities, deploy the right tools, and integrate them seamlessly.   

In addition to the 54% of IT leaders who say they lead Legal initiatives, 32% of IT leaders report being brought in specifically to support vendor reviews and provide recommendations—underscoring how automation tools are increasingly subject to enterprise-wide scrutiny. 

Yet, 15% of respondents report that Legal operates without a dedicated IT partner, potentially limiting the impact of automation efforts.

CIOs are uniquely positioned to help Legal leaders assess the security, reliability, auditability, and system integration of GenAI. 

Notably, GenAI deployment is progressing quickly: survey data indicates that organizations plan to roll out GenAI to their legal departments within an average of 10 months, with large companies leading the way (9 months) compared to smaller ones (14 months).  

64% of organizations are already exploring or piloting GenAI. Top use cases include compliance (59%), intelligent search (51%), eDiscovery (44%), document summarization (44%), and legal research (43%)—proving this is not just hype; it is action.2 

Intertwined support for eDiscovery   

Legal and IT have long collaborated on litigation and investigation support—but that partnership is deepening. Respondents report involvement in:  

  • Data collections and forensics (57%) 
  • eDiscovery (43%) 
  • Internal investigations (39%) 
  • Legal hold process management (39%) 

Modern eDiscovery methods such as Technology-Assisted Review (TAR) and Human-Assisted Review (HAR), guided by GenAI, are reducing legal review times while enhancing consistency—made possible through IT-led GenAI deployment.   

Today’s IT leaders are not just problem-solvers; they are change agents. According to the survey: 

  • 57% of respondents believe IT can have a significant impact on Legal’s AI strategy. 
  • 52% of midsize+3 companies say IT plays a critical role in supporting legal innovation. 
  • 35% of midsize+ companies report that IT controls Legal’s technology budget. 

The survey also shows that 47% of organizations report high digital maturity—where technology is deeply embedded in the culture and business model. These organizations are moving faster (especially on GenAI) and seeing more impact from Legal-IT collaboration. 

True transformation demands cross-functional planning—not siloed strategies. It calls for more than collaboration; it demands co-leadership. With nearly 80% of IT leaders already engaged in AI-related legal projects, and 64% of organizations either piloting or planning GenAI rollouts, the time for deeper partnership is now, not later. 

Want to learn more about the Legal-IT partnership? 

Download the whitepaper

Explore the survey, uncover insights, and see what senior IT leaders are saying about the future of legal transformation. 

  1. [1] All respondents were senior IT decision-makers. The majority (53%) held executive roles such as Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Digital Officer (CDO), or Head of IT. The remaining respondents included Vice Presidents of IT, Directors of IT, and other senior-level IT leaders. 
  2. [2] Interestingly, law firms reported a shift from hesitancy to widespread adoption with training programs in place, and lawyers increasingly view AI tools positively while balancing concerns about reliability and usage. https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/2299612/the-2025-ai-survey
  3. [3] Midsize+ companies (revenues of more than $501 million) – 52% said IT plays a critical role in supporting innovation while 35% said IT controls the budget and investment for Legal’s technology. 

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Andy Teichholz

Andy Teichholz is the Sr. Industry Strategist for Compliance and Legal at OpenText. He has over 20 years of experience in the legal and compliance industry as a litigator, in-house counsel, consultant, and technology provider. Andy is focused on helping businesses succeed with digital transformation. In this capacity, he has served as a trusted advisor to customers by leveraging his business acumen, industry experience, and technical knowledge to advise on regulatory compliance, information governance, and data privacy issues as well as support complex litigation and regulatory investigations.

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