By Kerry Phillip
In today’s dynamic business environment, the demand for agility and efficiency has never been greater. As organisations strive to adapt to ever-changing market conditions and regulatory landscapes, legal teams must lead from the front and optimise their offering so they can deliver for their business into the future. This is where the concept of legal team optimisation as a service emerges as a useful tool to help busy GCs and CLOs gain efficiency and productivity and to deliver more effectively for their business.
Why Optimise?
Optimised legal operations are more effective and more closely aligned with broader business objectives and better able to play a pivotal role in driving strategic initiatives.
Legal teams that have been through this process can triage work more efficiently, direct tasks to the appropriate team members, and utilise data-driven insights to make informed business decisions. Bringing clarity to the scope and services delivered, teams can concentrate on delivering the high-impact work that brings the most value.
Bringing in effective knowledge sharing and a structured approach to managing legal tasks and risks will result in a cost-effective and more motivated team.
Step One – Where Are You Now?
Any transformation process should begin with an assessment of current operations (the “as is”). The first step is to assess the maturity of the legal team, categorising it on a sliding scale that ranges from reactive to optimised:
Reactive – a team that is focused on immediate legal needs, with limited use of technology, and often lacking clear processes and procedures;
Developing – beginning to adopt best practice and to standardise processes, starting to use technology to improve efficiency.
Proactive – embracing a proactive approach to risk management and legal strategy, using technology and data to drive change, with well-defined processes and procedures in place;
Optimised – legal is viewed as a strategic partner to the business, driving innovation and value, using technology and data to optimise operations, and proactively identifying and managing risk.
Before you plot your team on the maturity index, take some time to collect data on the tasks and activities carried out by the team and gather feedback from key stakeholders on the services and support they receive to add to the picture of where you are now. Get an honest view from your team of what is working and what is not, as well as a good understanding of the problems to be solved.
Finally, conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of the team.
Once you have all this data, plot on the maturity index where your team is now and in Step Two you will plot where you would like it to be in the next 12,18 or 24 months.
Step Two: Where Do You Want to Be?
A successful legal transformation requires a clear vision and strategy that resonates with the legal team and key stakeholders and is aligned to business priorities (the “to be”). Use the maturity index to help you define that vision and think about the common goals for the team that will get you there.
Step Three: Define Scope and Service
Categorising activities by volume and complexity helps determine the best resources for each task and facilitates the design of an efficient operating model. High volume, low complexity work should be automated, offshored or outsourced where possible. Consider whether low volume and low complexity work can be insourced to the business with training and templates – a self-service model. High complexity and high-risk work that you do only occasionally is often better outsourced to external law firms. The ideal operating model allows the legal team to concentrate on the core legal work which is high volume, high complexity and high risk, as this is where the legal team, with a deep understanding of the organisation, its risk approach and its priorities, will add the most value.
Step Four: Create a Plan
Transformation plans should focus on the what, who, when and how of delivery. Starting at the end (“to be”) and working backwards will help identify the necessary steps and resources needed to reach the destination and build a realistic time frame. Team engagement in this process is crucial. Good communication, prioritising quick wins and being realistic will help to get buy in from the team.
At the very least, any plan should cover people, tools and technology, knowledge and reporting. Watch out that you don’t try to do too much too quickly. Pace yourself as bringing about change is a marathon and not a sprint!
People are Key
Successful optimisation relies on having the right people with the right skills to deliver the services. Thinking about the skills and resources required to deliver the core work will highlight any gaps in the team’s knowledge and experience. Training and development can usually close any gaps, so it is important to foster a culture of learning and innovation. Think too about your suppliers and whether they can fit your operating model. You are likely to need ALSPs as well as law firms.
Knowledge Hub
For a legal team to concentrate predominantly on high-value, impactful work, it must empower the wider business to independently do more of the lower risk legal work. Centralising the team’s knowledge in a hub and sharing the knowledge through regular legal learning sessions will help facilitate this. FAQs, self-service, guidance notes and contract playbooks should be kept up to date and made easily available. Clarity and guidance around risk approach and escalation triggers is a must for people inside and outside the legal team. Set up a training and learning programme for the team and the wider business.
Leveraging Technology and Tools
Incorporating technology into legal operations is a cornerstone of successful transformations. First, look at existing tools and technologies used in the team to see if they are fit for purpose and identify any gaps. Whether it’s front door/order intake systems, matter management, or contract lifecycle management, the right technology can significantly enhance legal efficiency.
Engaging with IT early in the transformation process is crucial. By leveraging existing business tools, such as Microsoft 365, and exploring new technologies, businesses can streamline processes and improve data insights.
Smart Reporting
Data, insights and reporting are always useful, but it is important to think carefully about what to measure and to be highly selective – don’t measure for the sake of it. Setting targets and using RAG status levels will make the output more valuable and progress more measurable. Sharing insights and data, together with the trends your dataset is showing, with key stakeholders is an excellent way of demonstrating the value of the legal team.
Step Five: Implement
You can set your plan up for success by organising a kick off meeting, explaining what is coming and when and why you are excited about the changes. Effective communication is key to the success of any transformation initiative. It is impossible to over-communicate the strategy, plan and reasons for making changes.
Create milestones, light reporting and governance to keep on track and if you have a team, then include delivery of the plan in their annual objectives.
Regular updates and celebrating small wins along the way can reinforce the benefits of the transformation and encourage continued buy-in. Remember to think about supporting your team and business through the changes you are making as change can be difficult and is often resisted. By making the process of change engaging and highlighting successes, you can foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the legal team.
In conclusion, optimising the legal team brings significant opportunities to a business. By focusing on the value and priorities, simplifying processes and leveraging technology, organisations can create efficient, agile, and forward-thinking legal teams. Embracing this approach not only drives business success but also creates a more engaged and motivated workforce, ready to tackle the challenges of the modern business landscape.
If you would like to find out more about how we can help you to optimise your legal team, please get in touch with Kerry Phillip on kerry.phillip@thelegaldirector.co.uk or you can speak with someone at TLD on 020 3056 8538. You can also find out more about our legal team optimisation service on our website.
