?? When Three Laws Collide with a Triangle: A Legal Tech Adventure

Ever feel like legal work is a bit like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it? Just when you think you're getting ahead, there's somehow more to do. Turns out, there's not just one, but three sneaky laws conspiring to make our lives interesting (and by interesting, I mean occasionally maddening).

1. Parkinson's Law: Let's start with our old friend Parkinson's Law: work expands to fill available time. You've lived this one - that contract review that "absolutely needs two weeks" somehow gets done in 48 hours when a client emergency hits. In legal departments, this creates the endless cycle of contract revisions, the technology implementation that never quite finishes, and the process improvement project that's perpetually 90% complete.
2. Illich's Law: But wait, there's more! Illich's Law jumps in to remind us that technology solutions create their own work. That shiny new system? Now you need someone to maintain templates and assist with requests for changes. Your fantastic eDiscovery platform? Someone's got to train those algorithms. The time saved on one end creates work on the other - it's the legal tech circle of life.
3. Jevon's Paradox: And finally, just when you think you've got it figured out, Jevons Paradox crashes the party. This Victorian-era insight tells us that making something more efficient actually increases its consumption. Make legal services more accessible through technology, and guess what? More people want legal services. That small business that couldn't afford manual contract review suddenly wants automated review of every vendor agreement. The latent demand emerges like hungry teenagers after soccer and ice hockey practice (it's possible I've seen this in person).

Interestingly enough, this is a hot topic, and this week Jevon's Paradox surged in Wikipedia access.

The real fun starts when these three laws interact:

• Parkinson's Law means work expands to fill time
• Illich's Law means saving time creates new work
• Jevons Paradox means efficiency drives more demand

And then there's the Iron Triangle?- scope, resources, and time, and you can't pick all three; you can only optimize for two. Want that contract review done faster? Something's got to give - either resources go up or scope goes down. The magic happens when we stop pretending we can have it all and start making strategic choices.

This isn't necessarily bad news. Understanding these laws lets us plan for reality instead of fighting it.

When implementing legal technology, we can:

1. Set explicit deadlines that acknowledge Parkinson's Law
2. Budget for the new work created by efficiency gains
3. Build scalable systems that can handle increased demand
4. Create clear metrics that track actual value delivery
5. Maintain flexibility to adapt as usage patterns emerge

The secret sauce? Embracing these laws rather than fighting them. That means:

• Breaking work into weekly chunks with clear deliverables
• Creating feedback loops that catch scope creep early
• Building capacity for the increased demand that efficiency will bring
• Establishing rhythms that drive consistent progress
• Planning for success by expecting increased usage

This works because it aligns with how legal professionals already handle external deadlines. Courts and litigators don't care about Parkinson's Law - their deadlines are their deadlines. Clients don't worry about Illich's Law - they expect service regardless of our internal complexity. And Jevons Paradox? That's just good business - more efficient service delivery means more clients served.

The future belongs to legal departments that embrace these realities. Instead of perfect efficiency, aim for effective delivery. Instead of fighting increased demand, plan for it. Instead of lamenting new work created by technology, budget for it.

How can I action these items??

For Legal Operations Teams: Implement these principles through concrete actions:

• Set 90-day maximum timeframes for technology deployments
• Create weekly delivery requirements with clear success metrics
• Build expansion capacity into initial project scopes
• Establish data collection processes to track efficiency gains
• Document new work created by automation to properly staff it

For Legal Technology Vendors: Design your solutions to address these realities:

• Build scalable architectures that accommodate increased usage
• Include?template management and maintenance tools by default
• Provide clear implementation timelines with specific milestones
• Create reporting tools that measure both?efficiency and new demand
• Offer training resources that address ongoing system optimization

For Practicing Lawyers: Convert these principles into daily practice:

• Implement standard response times for routine matters
• Set internal deadlines at 75% of external deadlines
• Create mandatory weekly matter reviews with specific deliverables
• Build capacity planning into practice group management
• Document efficiency gains to justify expanded resources