A Clio survey revealed that many law firms struggled to reclaim their data from providers
Maintaining data ownership is becoming a major issue for law firms as legal tech providers make it difficult for lawyers to reclaim their own information.
In Clio’s recent State of Legal Tech 2025 Data Insights report, 71% of lawyers revealed that legal software or tech providers withheld or delayed access to their firm’s documents while the firm was in the midst of either ending or renegotiating a contract with the provider. Thirty-nine percent claimed they only got their data back after intervention or paying the provider.
Australasian Lawyer caught up with Clio CEO and founder Jack Newton to discuss the report’s findings; in the first part of this interview, Newton shares his thoughts on why data ownership issues have sprung up between law firms and providers, and what this might do to the legal profession’s willingness to embrace legal tech.
What in your opinion are the leading causes of why there are issues of data ownership between law firms and legal tech providers?
There are legal tech companies making it extremely difficult or expensive for firms to access their own data because they are trying to retain customers by holding their data hostage. Our State of Legal Tech 2025 Data Insights found that 71% of lawyers surveyed have experienced some form of data lock-in or friction when trying to export their data. That is an alarming number. Of the lawyers surveyed, they have been charged an average of $24,861 to retrieve their own documents, with 80% of lawyers surveyed paying over $10,000.
If you multiply that across even 10% of Australia’s 23,000 legal services businesses, that’s nearly $59m spent unnecessarily every year. And what’s even more concerning is that almost half of the lawyers surveyed say they are unsure if they even own their data. Which is an ethical problem. Legal tech vendors are custodians of client data, not owners of it. Treating data like an asset instead of a duty is what has created this crisis, and it’s time that changed.
How have these issues affected the way law firms view new technology from your perspective?
When vendors act unethically, it damages trust across the entire industry. Law firms are understandably cautious about investing in new technology when they see stories of peers being charged thousands of dollars to get their data back. In our research, 84% of lawyers surveyed said they are aware of data portability issues; however, this confidence gap is growing. Trust is the foundation for adoption and if lawyers don’t trust the companies behind the software, they won’t use the software.
And that’s a shame, because technology has so much potential to improve the way law is practised. I’ve always said that legal tech providers are stewards of data, not the owners of it. When vendors take that responsibility seriously and make data access transparent and easy, it builds confidence and accelerates legal tech adoption. But the minute a firm feels like their information could be held hostage, that trust disappears, and so does their willingness to innovate.
How in your opinion will the data ownership issue affect the legal profession’s willingness to embrace legal tech overall?
If we do not solve this issue, it will slow down the digital transformation of the legal profession. Law firms will be hesitant to invest in new systems, if they think they will be trapped by restrictive contracts or hit with huge extraction fees down the road. That fear has a chilling effect on innovation. It limits experimentation with AI and other advanced technologies, and it holds back firms that want to modernise.
What we need as an industry is a standard approach to data portability. Every legal tech provider should make it simple for a firm to access and export their data at any time, without friction or cost. This should be a baseline expectation, not a nice-to-have. At the end of the day, this is not just about technology, it is about ethics. It is clear that fundamental data ownership lies with the customer. Vendors who act in alignment with that principle will earn trust and help the industry move forward faster and more confidently.
