REBROADCAST: Reimagining Legal Operations: The Law Department of the Future

Legal departments exist within the overall businesses they serve and with that has come a recognition that the business of doing law is a core component of how in-house legal services are delivered, and ample guidance must be given to legal operations. We gathered a team of in-house legal operations professionals to discuss what has fueled the growth of legal ops and where they believe their industry is headed. 

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Transcript

Welcome to Womble Perspectives, where we explore a wide range of topics, from the latest legal updates to industry trends to the business of law. Our team of lawyers, professionals and occasional outside guests will take you through the most pressing issues facing businesses today and provide practical and actionable advice to help you navigate the ever changing legal landscape.

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Legal departments exist within the overall businesses they serve and with that has come a recognition that the business of doing law is a core component of how in-house legal services are delivered, and ample guidance must be given to legal operations. We gathered a team of in-house legal operations professionals to discuss what has fueled the growth of legal ops and where they believe their industry is headed. The panelists for the event were as follows, and this episode is taken from their discussion:

Diderico van Eyl, General Manager and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, SABIC; Tom Stephenson, VP, Community & Legal Operations, Legal dot i o and former Director of Legal Operations at Credit Karma at the time of panel discussion); Laurie David-Henric, The Head of Law, Compliance, Audit and Government Relations Operations and Strategy at Manulife.

Stuart Stogner—Director of Strategic Client Relations, at Womble Bond Dickinson served as moderator.

“Legal operations” is a relatively new term in the corporate counsel world, but one of ever-increasing significance. Simply put, legal operations are the business activities that support an in-house legal department. But in recent years, legal operations have become a far more complex -and vital - aspect of the in-house delivery of legal services. 

As Laurie David-Henric, put it: “Legal operations is not about the practice of law but about how law is practiced.”

The introduction of advanced metrics has also added a new element to legal operations. Now, the legal operations department can use data to drive critical decisions and help the organization improve efficiencies. Today’s legal operations teams support not only the company’s legal department, but also compliance and government relations. They play a key role in their organization’s outside counsel management, digital transformation, billing and payments, auditing, and knowledge management operations.

Tom Stephenson commented: “We make sure we’re always checking the pulse of the company, so we can run legal like a business.” 

And all the panelists agreed: this role will continue to change and grow in the near future.

“The evolution in the delivery of legal services continues at an exponential pace,” said WBD’s Stuart Stogner. The ascent of legal operations is one of the key factors in that evolution.

One trend we’ve observed in providing in-house legal services is that for many businesses, the job has gotten too big for one team. In addition to the traditional legal department which falls under the leadership of a General Counsel, many companies have expanded their in-house capabilities to include a separate compliance department, a government relations team and, in recent years, legal operations. 

Tom Stephenson suggested that the focus of legal operations is less on administrative duties and more on “big picture” efficiencies and best practices.

“When we talk about legal operations, it’s really focused on actively trying to partner with law firms and the broader legal ecosystem to find solutions,” he said. “Innovative law firms are starting to notice smart GCs that recognize the value of legal operations, and they’re trying to drive efficiency to lower costs.”

Legal operations also helps connect the legal department with the larger company it serves and the people who work there.

“What we bring to the legal department is we help people see their value,” said Laurie David-Henric. The metrics extracted by legal operations provide valuable insight into how the legal department operates and helps the GC make the case that adequately funding the legal department is important.

For example, Diderico van Eyl and his team created tracking metrics for their company’s patent and trademark portfolios. They also developed metrics of how patent assets are aligned with the company’s business objectives. 

Tom Stephenson indicated that billing is another area where legal operations can add value to the company’s legal department.

He remarked, “We want to make sure that when we are being billed by law firms, we are adhering to our guidelines.” 

He suggests conducting a short seminar for outside counsel on the company’s billing guidelines at the start of each fiscal year. Such training should focus on practical steps related to billing—what formats to use, deadline dates, etc.

Stephenson said the relationship between legal operations and the GC’s office “has to be both parties working together” to benefit the company. 

“We need to position ourselves as a strategic partner,” continued Laurie David-Henric. “Legal operations is such a new profession and there’s no curriculum for it.”

The boom in legal operations has largely been built on technological advances. Such technology both brings great value to a company and requires sophisticated skillsets beyond the expertise already required by the legal department.

“The evolution of cloud-based and software-based technologies has opened up a lot of opportunities that didn’t exist 10-15 years ago to create more efficient and effective workflows,” said Diderico van Eyl.

In a society in which technology enables so much convenience, whether it’s ordering a meal or lining up a ride, legal operations need to be user friendly, with an easy interface - and easy onboarding.

Making this happen requires more than technology, though—it requires a cultural shift. Many legal professionals come from a billable hour background in which getting work done quickly isn’t a priority. But speed and efficiency are important to clients, and legal operations can play a key role in transforming a company’s legal culture to a more client-friendly focus.

Legal operations is no passing fad, but rather, it has quickly become an important part of how many companies provide legal services. If anything, the panelists expect this trend to grow in the near future.

“I see the demand for legal operations increasing and the entire function becoming more strategic,” van Eyl said. Technology innovations are becoming less expensive and give companies more options, he said, meaning that sophisticated legal operations services are increasingly viable for middle market companies.

In addition, van Eyl said, “The other thing I see is the transitioning of old, traditional companies becoming more digitally focused. That’s creating a lot of disruption within those companies and, in turn, that’s creating more demand for people to help them through that fog.” Legal operations can be a key part of providing that guidance.

He also sees increased regulation creating business challenges – something legal ops can help with considerably.

Laurie David-Henric said more focus needs to be given to legal ops training. “As we grow and our strategic position within the company grows, we’ll need people with the background and training to lead those efforts,” she said

And Tom Stephenson sees training evolving along a similar track to e-discovery. 

“Everything takes time,” he said. “But we’re in the right time and the right place, with hungry individuals who are looking to elevate legal operations.”

Many companies may be considering implementing a formal legal operations program. If so, David-Henric recommends they take their time to gather information and plan before making changes.

The panelists also said it is important that companies form legal operations teams that best meet their specific business and legal needs.

Stephenson said, “Every legal operations team is a snowflake—no two are alike.”

Thank you for listening to Womble Perspectives. If you want to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, please visit The Show Notes, where you can find links to related resources mentioned today. The Show Notes also have more information about our attorneys who provided today's insights, including ways to reach out to them.

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