The Agile Attorney Podcast 084. Technical Debt in Law Firms: How Small Shortcuts Create Big Problems
Aug 26, 2025
Discover the hidden dangers of technical debt in law firms. Shortcuts may save time initially but can lead to bigger problems later. The discussion includes practical strategies for improving workflow and efficiency to combat burnout. Learn about the innovative Greenline Legal tool designed to tackle these challenges. Feedback and demos are encouraged for those eager to enhance their legal practice.
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What Technical Debt Actually Is
- Technical debt is the cost of shortcuts that feel fast now but make systems fragile later.
- These quick fixes create higher friction and long-term slowdowns in law practices.
Copy-Paste Documents Cause Real Harm
- John describes the common shortcut of copying old client docs and deleting prior client info instead of creating templates.
- This leads to errors, client confusion, reputational harm, and extra rework when leftover content appears.
Many Faces Of Technical Debt
- Technical debt shows up beyond documents: unclear SOPs, intake flaws, and single-person dependencies all count.
- These forms of debt reduce consistency, create bottlenecks, and risk single points of failure.