Salespeople talk about their CRMs, doctors talk about the hospital's MyChart implementation, real estate agents talk about staging houses to look their best. Attorneys? Maybe not so much talking shop, especially when it comes to the tools they use to get their work done. eDiscovery, case management, you name it. So why don't lawyers "talk shop" about vendors the way other industries do?
Lawyers are trained to be risk-aware. From law school to practice, there's an emphasis on caution, confidentiality, and liability. Even internal conversation are filtered with questions like - is this client confidential? Is this an endorsement? Could this create responsibility?
The ABA's ethics rules shape communication too, since there are restrictions on referral fees and guardrails around endorsements. This creates a culture of restraint that serves clients and practice longevity very well.
Lawyers are paid in billable hours and that billable time doesn't include vendor evangelism. Sharing information about tools and vendors that work well doesn't generate revenue, it doesn't advance a case, and doesn't immediately reduce personal workload. Water cooler conversations don't show up on invoices.
Rightfully so, attorneys can often see themselves as the protectors of client strategy, the managers of risk, and the controllers of the information flow. So of course it makes sense that they don't want to appear promotional, share something before fully vetting it, or risk reputational capital. There's good research that legal referrals are mostly based on reputation and expertise matching, not casual network chatter.
If it's framed as client protection rather than vendor enthusiasm though, lawyers will absolutely share. Particularly if it improves defensibility, reduces risk, or clearly lowers cost.
If you're at a firm where a few attorneys use a service but others don't, maybe it's time to think about it as client protection both for yours and your colleague's.
If there was locker-room talk, it might sound like "I discovered a defensible, cost-predictable solution" and maybe others would be interested. It's not that lawyers don't care or that they don't want to save money, it's that legal culture values discretion over hype. This is a very good thing - but don't let it take away from finding and sharing beneficial tools and helpers.