Ashil leads Omnea's strategic efforts and has recently collaborated with over 50 leading law firms to navigate the evolving complexities of procurement within the legal sector.

Coverage spans a diverse range of firms—from those with mature, dedicated procurement teams to smaller practices where procurement responsibilities are distributed across departments such as IT, Risk, and Change Management.

Drawing on this breadth of insight, Ashil identifies six key trends that are currently redefining how forward-thinking law firms are modernising to meet the demands of a rapidly changing procurement landscape.

1. Procurement and risk are inextricably linked

Over the past few decades, procurement in law firms has strived for a more centralised and strategic function in order to offer enhanced oversight of third-party relationships. As the function has struggled to achieve this vision, new demands are being generated, namely the integration of risk management directly into procurement workflows.

Forward-thinking legal procurement teams are now embedding risk intelligence at the outset, capturing critical supplier risk data at the point of onboarding. By systematising this process, firms can not only gain a clearer risk profile of their supplier base but also enable continuous monitoring and mitigation, helping to safeguard the firm from escalating third-party threats.

Almost half (46%) of the Top 50 firms reported at least one supply chain attack in the last year, with 80% of those reporting more than one occurrence.

2. Intensifying pressure from customers to ensure ESG compliance of suppliers

Beyond the inherent legal and reputational risks, law firms are facing mounting external pressures to rigorously vet the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices of their third-party suppliers.

Thomas Reuters reports that ESG questionnaires now come from clients representing 20% of the firm’s revenue. ESG factors now account for approximately 20% of UK public sector procurement evaluations, a fourfold increase from just a few years ago.

This mounting pressure is prompting fee earners to advocate supplier governance more forcefully within their firms to win contracts and ensure client retention.

3. Rapid evolution of supplier tech stacks

Suppliers are advancing their technology capabilities at an unprecedented pace, particularly through the integration of artificial intelligence and other data-driven tools. This rapid innovation presents both opportunities and risks. Chief among them, the challenge of maintaining control over sensitive client and firm data.

As vendors continually adapt how they collect, process, and utilise data, law firms face growing pressure to move beyond point-in-time risk assessments. The emerging standard is a dynamic, ongoing approach to supplier oversight. One that provides real-time visibility into evolving risks across the firm’s vendor ecosystem. Without it, firms are struggling to uphold their data governance, compliance, and client confidentiality obligations.

4. Siloed systems are increasing risk and inefficiencies 

Law firms have often approached digitization with point solutions owned by separate teams. This has created a complex web of disparate systems that don’t work well together. These fragmented systems force staff to engage in manual downloading, uploading, and shepherding of data across platforms, particularly when engaging third-party suppliers or supporting compliance functions. In addition to manual inefficiencies, this also creates additional risk. Research by Kroll indicates that 88% of reported data breaches were due to human error, with common mistakes including sending sensitive information to incorrect recipients and improper data storage.

This challenge is exacerbated by historical M&A across the sector - duplicative, disconnected legacy systems generate greater inefficiencies and amplify risk.

5. Poor foundational data postures are becoming a critical barrier to innovation

The emergence of AI offers significant potential to streamline internal processes that enhance productivity, generate real team insights to facilitate decision making, and drive better knowledge sharing. Yet, the realisation of these gains is frequently obstructed by disconnected systems, inconsistent data flows, and missing metadata. For firms aiming to modernise their procurement and broader supplier governance frameworks, having integrated, interoperable systems is becoming not just beneficial but essential.

Despite 76% of UK law firms planning to increase their AI investment over the next two years, only 27% currently have the data infrastructure to support it.  

6. Repurposing IT tools for procurement is a systemic barrier to strategic progress

In an effort to manage internal spend efficiently, many procurement functions have been compelled to repurpose generalist IT tools already in use across the firm. These tools lack the specialised capabilities required to support a strategic agile procurement process.

The lack of a dedicated procurement tool leaves procurement functions without early visibility into purchase requests, diminishing their opportunity to negotiate and drive value. Dedicated procurement solutions transform procurement teams into strategic partners to finance, risk, and operational teams, increasing savings, boosting compliance, and optimising efficiency across the firm.

How are firms adapting to deal with these pressures?

Forward-looking law firms are elevating procurement by systemising it through connected, user-friendly solutions—enhancing adoption and visibility firm-wide. Simultaneously, they’re embedding third-party risk controls and implementing continuous governance to better manage commercial and reputational risk.

Omnea is proud to work with leading law firms across the UK and US to enable this shift. If you'd like to see the platform in action or explore how we can help, we’d love to hear from you.