The problem
Every vendor pitch lands on a partner's desk, and evaluating them is nobody's job. The IT consultant doesn't practice law. The associates have opinions but no authority.
So decisions get made by default — usually by the loudest vendor.
What it is
Ongoing ownership of the firm's technology decisions on retainer: vendor evaluation, roadmap, and the authority to say no to the wrong tool.
The judgment of a senior hire, without hiring one — from someone who has practiced law and led product at a legaltech company.
What you get
- A standing AI lead
- A named owner for every technology decision the firm faces.
- Vendor evaluation
- Every pitch gets a practitioner's read before it gets a signature.
- The roadmap, kept current
- Not a binder on a shelf — a plan that moves as the firm does.
Who it's for
A good fit if
- Firms fielding vendor pitches with no one qualified to evaluate them
- Firms coming out of an audit or implementation that want the momentum owned
Probably not if
- Firms that haven't measured anything yet — the audit is the cheaper first step
- Firms wanting day-to-day IT support — this is a leadership seat, not a help desk
Questions partners ask
- What exactly does the retainer include each month?
- A standing call, vendor pitches evaluated as they arrive rather than after someone signs, and regular reporting: what changed, what it saved, and what to do next. The monitoring and the efficiency analysis run continuously — the point of a retainer is that someone is watching between the meetings.
- Why not hire a CTO, or use our IT consultant?
- A full-time CTO costs more than most boutique firms can justify. An IT consultant who has never practiced can keep your email running, but can't tell you whether a drafting tool fits how a family-law matter actually moves. This is the seat between those two.
- Do you take referral fees from vendors you recommend?
- No. No commissions, no referral fees, no reseller deals. The retainer is the only way Aktiston makes money here — which is the point of it.
- Is there a minimum commitment?
- Six months. Technology leadership that turns over quarterly is not leadership. Vendor decisions, roadmap, and adoption only show results across a couple of quarters, and a shorter run would be selling you something that cannot work.
Book the consultation. Decide after.
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck. If this isn't the right fit, the call is where we'll both find out, and it costs nothing to ask.
Book a consultation