The Brady Brief
Monthly Industry Trends & Insights from Colligo CEO Tim Brady
Law firms are increasingly recognizing that Outlook has inadvertently become their de facto document management system, and they are actively looking for simpler ways to move critical client communications into governed repositories like SharePoint without disrupting attorney workflows.
In a recent post, AI Is Driving a New Question for Law Firms, I highlighted how firms are modernizing their information management strategies around Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and AI. While many of those observations still hold true, the pace of change has been remarkable. In conversations with law firms over the past few months, several trends have emerged or accelerated that are worth highlighting.
Trend 1: Email Is a Major Source of “Dark Data” Trapped in Inboxes
Law firms repeatedly describe Outlook as the place where client knowledge actually lives. Important client discussions, decisions, approvals, and matter-related correspondence often remain trapped within individual inboxes.
As we discussed in our article on SharePoint becoming the de facto legal DMS, firms not yet working with Colligo have invested heavily in Microsoft 365, but many have not successfully made the transition to consistently saving emails to SharePoint, despite recognizing the need to do so.
As a result, email remains one of the largest sources of dark data within many firms, containing valuable client and matter knowledge that is difficult to search, govern, and share effectively.
Trend 2: Firms Continue to Prioritize Efficiency and Automation
As I’ve highlighted previously, efficiency and automation remain top priorities for many law firms.
Firms continue to focus on saving time, reducing manual effort, and making information capture part of everyday workflows. Lawyers want solutions that fit naturally into how they already work, rather than adding additionaladministrative burden.
What’s changed is that firms appear to have a much stronger understanding of the connection between well-managed information and successful AI initiatives. Firms increasingly recognize that capturing and organizing information today creates the foundation for deriving value from AI tomorrow.
This is one of the reasons we continue to see interest in SharePoint as both a system of record and the foundation for future AI initiatives.
Trend 3: SharePoint Has Significant Momentum in Law Firms
This is perhaps the biggest market trend we’re seeing.
More firms than ever are looking to SharePoint as their repository for emails and matter-related content. While this trend began to emerge several years ago, Microsoft 365 continues to gain momentum as the strategic platform for document management, collaboration, and information governance.
Five years ago, many conversations centred on whether SharePoint could function as a legal DMS. Today, the conversation is increasingly about how firms can get more valuable content into SharePoint and make that content easier to find and use.
Many of the conversations we’re having are now focused on working better with SharePoint, rather than questioning whether SharePoint can serve as the DMS. We believe Microsoft Copilot will only accelerate this trend as firms seek to maximize the value of information already within their Microsoft 365 environment.
Trend 4: AI Readiness Starts With Email Governance
The dark data left in inboxes can limit the value AI can provide.
However, AI readiness is not simply about capturing more information. It’s about ensuring the right information is captured, governed, and accessible. Filing email records, evidence, decisions, and client communications remainsimportant. So does ensuring information is filed in the correct location, with appropriate retention, disposition, security, and access controls.
As firms look to take advantage of AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, they’re realizing that information trapped in inboxes is difficult for AI to discover, summarize, and use effectively.
It’s no surprise that we’re also seeing continued interest in Colligo’s AI-powered email summarization capabilities, which help lawyers and legal staff quickly understand context, find information faster, and reduce the time spent reviewing large email conversations.
Trend 5: Knowledge Transfer and Attorney Departure Risk
This is a growing concern we’re hearing from firms.
Several recent conversations have focused on the risk of valuable client and matter knowledge remaining locked within individual mailboxes, creating challenges when attorneys leave the firm or transition client responsibilities.
Common concerns include:
- Emails stored in a lawyer’s inbox creating knowledge access challenges for the broader team
- Attorneys departing while years of client communications remain in personal mailboxes
- Difficulty locating client history when information has never been incorporated into the matter record
Client knowledge should belong to the firm, not the mailbox.
This challenge is one reason many firms are looking for ways to ensure matter-related emails become part of the broader knowledge repository, where they remain searchable, governed, and accessible over time.
Outlook Has Become the Largest Unmanaged Repository in Many Law Firms
If there’s one takeaway from recent conversations with law firms, it’s this: email governance is no longer just a compliance discussion.
It sits at the intersection of knowledge management, operational efficiency, attorney collaboration, AI readiness, and risk management.
Outlook has quietly become one of the largest repositories of institutional knowledge within many firms. As AI adoption increases, firms are finding that the information trapped inside those mailboxes is simply too valuable to leave unmanaged.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colligo. Think of them as ‘strong opinions, loosely held.’ Proceed with curiosity and a sense of humour!