Are Midsize Firms Innovating? A Conversation With Planet Data CEO Howard Reissner

What are the pain points faced by midsize law firms?

You would think that midsize firms would be an ideal testing ground for innovative technology and services, especially if you’re bullish on legal tech. Midsize firms don’t have the big IT department or the unstructured web of decision makers to keep new things out, and theoretically, legal technology should allow medium-size firms to “level the playing field” with the big firms. Who needs a team of junior associates for diligence if you can simply use Kira?

But things are playing out a little differently.

My experience is that many companies aren’t able to focus on (or crack the nut of how to sell to) medium-sized firms; the exceptions are outliers. “We tried,” one startup exec told me recently. But after discovering that there was no appetite, that company moved on to in-house counsel. And as Steve Nelson of the McCormick group recently wrote, even when it comes to improving process, it is the big firms, not the midsize firms, that are investing in change.

I never worked at a midsize firm and, as result, have no real experience with the culture or the pain points. So when I saw my friend Howard Reissner’s post yesterday in Legaltech News on just this issue, I took it as a small sign to begin to explore this part of the ecosystem. Howard is a former practicing lawyer and the founder and president of tech-enabled eDiscovery service provider Planet Data, developers of the Exego platform, and a company that, among other things, has been delivering a combination of technology married with services to both Biglaw and midsize law firms for over 16 years. I’m kicking off a conversation with Howard today — follow along, and if you’ve got fresh angles on midsize firms, reach out to me by email.


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Zach Abramowitz is a former Biglaw associate and currently CEO and co-founder of ReplyAll. You can follow Zach on Twitter (@zachabramowitz) or reach him by email at zach@replyall.me.

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