How to become a 'tech expert' in your team

One of the best ways for junior lawyers to add value is to become the technology expert in your team — and it's usually easier than you'd think (weeks, not years). Here's how, with an example.

1. Choose a program and understand its features

Pick something installed but underused (e.g. Word), or a program neglected by lawyers (e.g. Excel). In my example, I chose one used for basic document collation that clearly had more features — I found the user guide on Google, skimmed it, and noted the ones that looked helpful.

2. Link to a problem

Features don't matter unless they solve a problem. Tie them to tangible benefits: saving time, better-quality work, or letting more junior colleagues do tasks usually reserved for mid-levels. In my example, the program could produce better court books — bookmarking, text-searchability, automatic formatting, and redaction.

3. Test it yourself

Compare the existing process with the new one and document the results. If it doesn't work out, that's fine — you've started thinking this way, and it's only a matter of time before another tool delivers.

4. Flag with your supervisor or colleagues

Once you've proven the results, raise it with your supervisor or a few colleagues who do that kind of work:

5. Send out an email

After demonstrating the features, ask your supervisor if you can send a summary to the team. Don't forget the last line — you're setting yourself up as the expert. At the least, people will think of you next time they're doing that kind of task or wondering if there's a better way. Here's an example of the kind of email you might send:

Ideas you can try

• Your firm's approved AI system
• OneNote (better notes and templates)
• Adobe Reader (PDF collation)
• Outlook (email tips)
• Trello or Notion (legal project management)
• Excel (universally neglected by lawyers)
• Teams (more interactive virtual meetings)
• Canva (better presentations and BD materials)
• Loom (video messaging)
• Lucidchart / Visio (flowcharts)