Overview
Launching Legl is as much about people as it is about technology. The firms that see the fastest adoption, strongest engagement, and best return on investment are the ones that treat the rollout as a change management programme, not a software install.
This guide covers the practical steps to lead that change at your firm. It is written for the Success Owner and Executive Sponsor leading the launch, and it complements the admin launch guide.
What this covers
Why change management is critical to a successful Legl launch
What to expect: the change curve at your firm
How to articulate the impact of Legl to different audiences at your firm
How to tailor your approach for centralised and decentralised compliance teams
How to identify and equip a change management champion
How to identify power users in each department
The learning dip: why adoption gets harder before it gets easier
Common pitfalls to avoid during firm-wide rollout
Why change management matters when launching Legl
Legl changes how your firm onboards clients, manages compliance, and takes payments. Even when the new process is faster and easier, fee earners and support staff are being asked to step away from a long-established way of working. Without active change management, even well-configured platforms see slow adoption, inconsistent use across teams, and a lower return on investment.
The firms that adopt Legl quickly and consistently share four things in common:
Leadership clearly explains why the firm is making the change
The launch is led internally by a named champion, not just the Legl team
Each department has at least one power user who can support their colleagues
The rollout approach matches how the firm is structured
ℹ️ Important
Treating Legl as an IT project rather than a change project is the most common reason firms see slow adoption in the first 90 days. Build the change plan alongside the configuration plan, not after.
What to expect: the change curve at your firm
Even when people support a change in principle, the way they respond emotionally to a new system follows a predictable pattern. Recognising the stage your firm is in helps you respond appropriately rather than mistaking it for a problem with the platform.
Stage | What it sounds like at your firm | What helps |
Awareness | "I've heard we're getting a new system" | Clear, early communication of the why |
Resistance | "We've always done it this way", "this won't work for our matter type" | Listen genuinely; address specific objections; show peer-firm examples |
Exploration | "How do I…?", "Where does this go?" | Hands-on training, accessible support, power users on hand |
Acceptance | "OK, this is actually quicker" | Recognise early wins publicly |
Adoption | "I wouldn't go back" | Use these advocates to help the next department or office |
Resistance is not a sign that the launch is failing. It is a sign that people are taking the change seriously. Plan for it, listen to what is being raised, and address it specifically — generic reassurance does not work.
How to articulate the impact of Legl to your firm
Different audiences at your firm care about different outcomes. The same launch message will not land equally with a managing partner, a fee earner, and an accounts assistant. Tailor what you say to the audience, but keep the core narrative consistent.
For partners and the leadership team
Faster file opening and a quicker route to revenue from new matters
Stronger compliance posture and a clear audit trail across the firm
Reduced operational cost from automating manual onboarding and chasing
A more professional, modern client experience that supports retention and referrals
For compliance, risk, and the MLRO function
Standardised, repeatable client due diligence across every matter
Centralised reporting and oversight without chasing individual fee earners
Easier evidence gathering for audits and regulatory reviews
Confidence that ongoing monitoring is happening consistently, not by exception
For fee earners and matter handlers
Less time spent collecting ID and chasing documents
Faster client onboarding so matters can be opened sooner
A better experience for clients, who can complete checks on their phone
Clear visibility of what is outstanding for each client
For finance and accounts
Faster payment turnaround and improved cash flow
Fewer manual reconciliations and clearer matter-level reporting
Reduction in chasing clients for outstanding invoices
ℹ️ Tip
Ask your Launch Manager for case studies and benchmarks from firms similar in size and practice area to yours. Concrete numbers from peer firms are more persuasive than generic platform benefits.
Tailoring your approach to your compliance model
How your firm manages compliance shapes how Legl should be rolled out. The two most common models are centralised and decentralised, and a number of firms operate a hybrid of the two. The right approach depends on where decisions and reviews happen at your firm.
Centralised compliance teams
In a centralised model, a dedicated team owns onboarding, risk assessments, and ongoing monitoring on behalf of the whole firm. Fee earners hand off the client and the central team takes over.
What this means for your launch:
Train the central team in depth first, including all admin functionality, the Compliance Dashboard, and reviewer workflows
Give fee earners a lighter-touch session focused on launching workflows and reading client status
Set clear handover points: when a fee earner sends an Engage request, who reviews it, and how the result gets back to the matter
Configure permissions so the compliance team has reviewer access and fee earners do not unintentionally bypass review
Decentralised compliance teams
In a decentralised model, fee earners or matter handlers are responsible for running their own client due diligence, with oversight from a Head of Compliance or MLRO. This is more common in smaller firms and in firms where individual departments operate semi-independently.
What this means for your launch:
Plan for broader, more thorough end-user training because every fee earner is effectively an operator of the platform
Invest in clear internal documentation and quick-reference materials so users can self-serve
Identify a power user in each department to act as the local expert
Use the Compliance Dashboard and reporting to give the MLRO oversight without forcing a manual handover for every matter
Hybrid models
Many firms sit between the two: a central team owns risk and oversight, but fee earners initiate workflows themselves. In this case, take the broader training approach from the decentralised model and combine it with the structured handover and permissions design from the centralised model.
ℹ️ Important
If your firm is mid-restructure, or if compliance ownership is genuinely unclear, agree the operating model before configuring workflows in Legl. Configuring against an unclear process is the most common cause of post-launch rework.
Identifying a change management champion
Your champion is the person at your firm who carries the launch internally, day to day. They are the bridge between the Legl team and your firm, and they hold the rollout to its objectives.
Why a champion is important
Adoption stalls without internal advocacy. Your Launch Manager can support, but the message lands harder when it comes from a colleague
Champions surface friction and feedback faster than any external team can
They keep momentum once the official launch period ends and the Legl team steps back
They give partners and fee earners someone they trust to ask questions of
Who makes a good champion
Sits close enough to the day-to-day work to understand current pain points
Has credibility across the firm, especially with fee earners and partners
Is naturally curious about technology and improving how things are done
Has the time and the explicit mandate from leadership to lead the change
Is not necessarily the most senior person, but is someone people listen to
In many firms the champion is the COO, Head of Operations, Head of Compliance, or a senior Practice Manager. In smaller firms it may be a partner who is leading the change personally.
How to equip your champion
Give them protected time. A part-time champion with no capacity will struggle to drive change
Make sure they attend admin training and have access to the Compliance Dashboard
Give them a direct line to your Legl Launch Manager during launch, and to your Customer Success Manager after go-live
Empower them to make small configuration decisions without escalating each one
Recognise their work publicly. Champions need visible support from leadership to be effective
Identifying power users in each department
Power users are department-level experts who use Legl regularly and become the first point of contact for their colleagues. While the champion leads the change firm-wide, power users embed it in each team.
Why power users matter
Colleagues are more likely to ask the person sitting next to them than to raise a support ticket
Power users adapt the firm-wide guidance to their department's specific workflows and matter types
They surface department-specific feedback that would otherwise be missed
They reduce the support burden on the central champion and on the Legl team
How to identify them
Watch for who asks the most questions during training. Curiosity often indicates a future power user
Look for people already informally helping colleagues with technology, regardless of seniority
Ask department heads to nominate someone, and confirm the nominee has the time and willingness to take it on
Aim for at least one power user per department or team. Larger teams benefit from two
How to support them
Run a power-user-only training session in addition to standard end-user training
Set up a regular forum, such as a monthly call or a dedicated channel, where power users share what they are seeing and learn from each other
Acknowledge the role formally so colleagues know who to ask
Give them early visibility of new features and changes so they can prepare their team
ℹ️ Tip
Power users are also your strongest source of feature requests and product feedback. Treat them as a focus group, not just a support layer.
The learning dip: why adoption gets harder before it gets easier
When a team learns a new system, performance often gets worse before it gets better. People who were fluent in the old way are now consciously thinking about every step — what to click, where to find things, what comes next. This is normal, predictable, and temporary, but if you do not expect it, it can look like the launch is failing.
The pattern moves through four stages:
Unconscious competence with the old way — the team is fluent in the existing process and barely thinks about it
Conscious incompetence with the new way — the team starts using Legl and is acutely aware of what they don't yet know. This is the dip. Speed drops, frustration rises
Conscious competence with the new way — the team can complete tasks in Legl but still has to think through each step
Unconscious competence with the new way — Legl becomes the default. People work through it without consciously thinking about the system
Most firms see the dip three to six weeks after go-live. Plan for it: a champion check-in, a pulse survey, an additional clinic or drop-in session, and visible reassurance from leadership all help the team move through it rather than retreat to old habits.
When you would use this guide
When planning your initial Legl launch
When extending Legl to a new department or office after the initial go-live
When refreshing engagement after a period of low adoption
When onboarding a new champion or new power users
After a structural change at the firm, such as a merger, that affects who owns compliance
Key things to be aware of
Change management is not a one-off task. Plan for activity before, during, and after go-live, not just at launch
The Success Owner, Executive Sponsor, change champion, and power users are distinct roles. One person can hold more than one, but each role needs to be deliberately assigned
Adoption tends to dip three to six weeks after go-live, once the initial energy fades. Plan a check-in for that window
If your firm is rolling out across multiple departments or offices, sequence rather than parallelise. A successful pilot creates internal advocates for the next wave
Resistance is information. Listen to it, address what is valid, and use it to refine your approach
ℹ️ Further guidance
ℹ️ Important
Change management activity should start before the kick-off call, not at go-live
A named champion with explicit, leadership-backed time is the single biggest predictor of fast adoption
Aim for at least one power user per department, identified before training begins
Tailor your messaging by audience, but keep the firm's core reason for adopting Legl consistent across every group
If your compliance model changes after go-live, revisit your training, permissions, and handover points to keep the platform aligned with how the firm now operates