My first in-house legal leadership role was similar to many at that time in that we didn’t have access to technology designed for legal teams. There were generic tools, but they weren’t as sophisticated as today, and usually limited to e-billing or document management. We had a small budget for outside counsel, so we didn’t need a complex e-billing solution. There was a companywide document management tool, but it was clunky; rather than using it to manage documents, we used it for archiving. We relied on email, spreadsheets and a mixture of drives to manage legal work.

Email was our predominant tool. Every department would email requests directly to someone on the legal team or our shared inbox. Few provided sufficient information to advise on the issue, so we’d go back and forth gathering the necessary details. Documents were created in Word and circulated via email, and subsequent versions would be saved on individual desktops or a shared drive. If we wanted to know the latest version of a document, it would be somewhere on one of those drives or someone’s sent folder. Embarrassingly, it was often quicker to email the other party to clarify which version we were working on.

I knew we needed to change but the status quo seemed easier

The team had their own familiar processes and we were quite set in our ways. The business also appeared happy, although I’ll be honest, they didn’t know that legal services could be done differently. We heard grumbles about things being late or the rising cost of using external law firms, but we always thought they understood we were doing the best we could with the limited resources we had. I knew we should have been doing things differently but, without time to think or the business telling us to change, it seemed easier to carry on – no one would get upset.

Not having complete visibility of the matters the team was working on became overwhelmingly uncomfortable, so I introduced a spreadsheet to record and track them all. Of course, keeping it up to date became another time-intensive manual task. It also had no value beyond telling me what the team was working on and didn’t improve our service. I hoped it was being kept up to date but deep down I knew it wasn’t. 

Quality was slipping and we weren’t doing the work we came in-house to do

Our ways of working kept me awake. I worried things were falling through the cracks, issues were being overlooked and there was a danger deadlines would be missed. I feared unpolished advice was being given and that people were close to burnout. The reactive work was becoming unmanageable, and our current processes wouldn’t scale to meet the mounting volumes and complexity of legal work.

We often talked about our reasons for moving in-house. Being part of the business, seeing matters through from start to finish, and delivering high-quality, impactful work were common themes. Instead, our days were filled with operational busyness and firefighting, constantly pulling us away from the interesting, valuable work the team craved. This work was often outsourced to external law firms, while we took the role of postmasters, which meant the people in our business saw the external lawyers as the ones driving business strategy and value, not us. 

I’m sure many of you can relate. Here’s the thing: most of my team’s problems stemmed from reliance on emails and spreadsheets. You might not realise it, but they’re the reason your days are filled with admin, why you don’t have oversight or time to focus on being the impactful legal leader your business needs, why your team never seem to get anything done, and – bluntly – why many struggle to overcome the negative perceptions of the internal legal function.

The disconnection dilemma, and the risk of using nothing

Email was designed as a communication tool, but we were using it for much more than intended – managing requests, tracking statuses and storing files. It was chaotic. It was inefficient. It was risky!

All of our business’ critical legal documents, information and data were fragmented across inboxes and drives so even the most routine request wasted hours – “Where’s this issue at?” “Can you send me the latest version?” Those frequent questions sent us diving into Outlook, scouring through emails and drives, desperately trying to locate information or the current version of a document. It was wasteful and incredibly frustrating – we needed to focus on more important issues.

Each email alert derailed productivity. It wasn’t just the time spent reading and responding – it was the mental distraction, the lost momentum, the burden of never getting ahead. They say it takes up to 30 minutes to regain full focus after an interruption. When I think about how many emails and distractions the team was handling, it’s no wonder we were struggling to keep on top of our workload! 

There’s also an oversight challenge. Managing a modern legal function that relies on email is an oxymoron – no one has an up-to-date picture of what’s happening! When your team is managing work through inboxes, they’re working in bubbles. You’ve created multiple legal silos, which makes it hard to identify trends, spot potential risks or optimise for the skills within your team. And we know silos are the antithesis of collaboration, so when someone goes on holiday or leaves, good luck trying to piece together their work while your stakeholders breathe down your neck. And don’t get me started on the compliance risk.

Legal leaders need the right tools. I’ll be honest, a spreadsheet isn’t cutting it

I didn’t think much about the amount of time and effort that was spent manually tracking my team’s capacity, workload and updating spreadsheets. Now, through my own experience and learning that 31% of legal leaders spend three or more hours daily on these manual management activities, I’m more enlightened. These hours wasted could be spent communicating with the business, being more visible, pre-empting issues, developing the team and focusing on strategy. And it wasn’t just me! My entire team felt the weight of these manual processes.

Thankfully, today’s legal technology is far more sophisticated, user-friendly and affordable – no one has to work in those outdated ways. So, if you and your team want to do their best work and deliver the value you came in-house to do, you need to lead them out of email and spreadsheet chaos. I promise the investment pays off.

My hindsight is your gift:  Here’s what I would do differently if I had my first time again

I’d start by creating a single source of truth – all legal matters, contracts, spend, documents, emails and data securely stored in one place. One search interface so that anyone with the right permissions can instantly surface and access the information they need without distracting others. This makes the invisible visible and means everyone has full context.

By removing the constant distractions and time spent jumping between systems, providing updates and searching for information, I’d have a happier, more efficient and proactive legal team, and more opportunities to demonstrate value to our entire organisation.

Reduced costs is another bonus: less administrative burden means the team has capacity to pick up work that would otherwise be sent externally – a huge saving at a time when costs are under the microscope. And if you’re worried about getting the software budget approved, the time saved and reduced reliance on outside counsel very likely compensates for a software subscription.

As a legal leader, I would sleep easier knowing that there was less risk of using outdated information or issues and deadlines being missed. I’d have a bird’s-eye view of every matter, request, and every piece of work the team was handling. If I wanted to know something, I’d know exactly where to find it. And if someone left or took leave, there’d be no lengthy handover or pressure on others to find contracts or figure out what’s been happening on their matters. Everything would be there, neatly stored and accessible, and I’d delete that horrible tracking spreadsheet!

The cost of delay is high – it’s our job to lead positive change!

You might be thinking that change is hard or there’s no budget for legal tech. But here’s the reality: the cost of doing nothing is much higher. Every day you spend using inefficient systems is another day you’re losing time, increasing risk and hindering your team’s productivity. The business might not be pushing for change, but as a General Counsel, it’s your job to lead your team. Help them move on from spreadsheets and email. Your team – and future self – will thank you.

A legal workspace like LawVu will create your single source of truth with little effort, making your legal function more efficient and impactful. It’s an investment that pays off -both for morale and the business’ bottom line. Trust me, if I had known back then what I know now, I would have made the switch a lot sooner.

And if you want to chat legal to legal, reach out anytime. I’d love to catch up – in person or virtually with a nice Tetley’s and a digestive.