Investment Required
The legal operations function is already facilitating positive change in the UK, but much more investment is needed if this is to match the impact it is having in the US.
Read more from Drew Macaulay and Robin Snasdell on how to transform legal department operations.
Preview: The legal industry is evolving rapidly and some would argue that Legal Department Operations professionals are the principal catalysts of change. It makes sense – those tasked with improving legal department operational performance are those who have the time, energy, focus and charge to enable positive transformation. Accomplishing significant change in a legal department’s operating model means overcoming the inertia of the old paradigm whereby in-house lawyers rely on relationships with external counsel for most of their support needs. Law firms have little incentive to change their longstanding hourly billing model despite all their press releases about investments in AI or lowcost nearshore/offshore service centres. Against this backdrop it is hardly surprising that only the legal departments that truly dedicate resources to transformation actually achieve results. A professional approach Enter the legal operations professional. Freed of the need to protect relationships to ensure business-as-usual continues, this person can join the dots between the needs and desires of the chief financial officer or procurement team and the legal service delivery model. Suddenly, the gloves are off and light is shone. Every element can be examined. Who are we using for what? Are they the right resource at the right price? Can we better leverage skillsets, aggregate tasks or automate processes? What areas are amenable to insourcing or outsourcing? So how far have the UK’s largest legal departments progressed on this journey towards a more efficient operating model? This year’s survey by The Lawyer of FTSE 100 legal departments provides some interesting insights. Big picture – legal operations initiatives in the FTSE 100 are real, delivering value and here to stay.
This article first appeared in the 2017 FTSE 100 Report.