In-house legal teams are under more pressure than ever in 2024. The global financial crisis, COVID-19, and swift improvements in technology have created a climate in which in-house lawyers are expected to be more cost efficient than ever before – and to take a more active role in supporting the strategic priorities of the businesses that they serve.

As many in-house teams are discovering, one of the most effective ways to meet the rising demands on the legal function is to invest in optimizing the way that legal services are delivered to the business. Legal technology is the most obvious way to support this shift – but software is just one element in the process of leveling up the operational side of the legal function.

The role of legal operations (or “legal ops”) within the average in-house legal department has grown exponentially over recent years. More accurately described as a function than a dedicated role, legal ops encompasses the people, processes and technologies involved in managing the operational, rather than purely legal, side of an in-house legal department.

If you’re part of an in-house legal team, there’s a high chance you are already implementing legal operations as part of your everyday work, even if you’re a sole general counsel.

Understanding in-house legal operations

Legal operations is a function within the in-house legal department which focuses on managing the business side of legal services. Its overarching purpose is to help legal teams operate more efficiently and deliver more value to their organizations.

Legal operations professionals are responsible for improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring the legal team is working in alignment with the company’s strategic goals. By refining best practices and leveraging technology, they empower legal teams to work smarter and more effectively.

While many large organizations structure their in-house legal teams in a way which includes dedicated legal operations roles, legal operations is best described as an operational responsibility which is often naturally performed by other professionals in the legal team as part of their daily work. For example, a sole GC may well look at ways to improve service delivery to the business as part of their overarching role.

Legal operations roles and responsibilities

The roles that exist within a legal operations team can vary considerably depending on the size of an organization and its legal department. In larger companies, legal operations can be a fully developed department with multiple stakeholders.

Conversely, in smaller organizations, this function might be managed by a few key individuals – or simply be one of many responsibilities assumed by general counsel.

Here are some of the core roles that make up a legal operations function:

• Legal Operations Manager: The legal operations manager oversees the entire legal ops function, focusing on streamlining processes, implementing technology, and managing budgets. Their role is to ensure that the legal department operates efficiently and supports the company’s business objectives.

• Legal Operations Specialist: Legal operations specialists focus on specific operational areas, such as vendor management, budgeting, or technology adoption. They help to optimize workflows and maintain seamless operations within the legal team.

• Legal Project Manager: Legal project managers handle more complex in-house legal matters that require project management skills. Their role is to ensure that tasks are completed on time and within budget by applying project management principles to corporate legal work.

Why is a legal operations function so important?

More than ever before, in-house legal teams face rising pressure to deliver more to their organizations at lower cost. Many legal departments struggle with a high volume of low complexity manual work and fragmented workflows – and according to the 2024 In-House Legal Technology Report, a significant portion of in-house legal teams are spending too much time on repetitive, non-strategic tasks:

• 41% spend three hours per day or more on back and forth with the wider business.
• 31% spend three hours per day or more searching through emails and spreadsheets.
• 30% spend three hours per day or more compiling assets for reporting.

These inefficiencies (or sources of “legal waste”) can be calculated and quantified – and they prevent legal teams from focusing on the high-value work that has the greatest impact on the wider business.

A legal operations function is designed to directly address the challenge of legal waste by improving workflows, introducing automation where appropriate, and ensuring that resources are used where they are needed most. By streamlining legal processes, a well-functioning legal operations team enables in-house lawyers to concentrate on more strategic initiatives, such as advising on business risks, overseeing compliance, and supporting business growth.

How legal operations can benefit your in-house team

Incorporating legal operations into an in-house function can remove some of the biggest pain points facing legal and transform the team’s capacity to deliver its best work. Here’s how:

Creating space for legal work

Larger in-house legal teams in particular can benefit substantially from creating a dedicated legal ops function. With members of the team dedicated solely to improving the operational side of in-house legal by optimizing, scaling, and improving processes, lawyers are free to focus on the high-value legal work that they came in-house to do.

Streamlining processes

Regardless of team size, bringing legal operations into an in-house function often involves the implementation of technology and software to optimize and speed up workflows. These tools remove administrative burden and make life easier for lawyers – whether it’s through centralizing and accelerating daily processes or by facilitating self-service for simple legal requests.

Insights and reporting

Legal operations teams track and analyze key performance metrics such as legal spend, resource allocation, and process efficiency. By collecting and reporting on this data through critical KPIs, they enable in-house teams to demonstrate their value to the business. Data insights also help in-house teams make informed decisions about how to allocate resources – and where to make process-related improvements in the future.

The role of legal operations software

In order to optimize the workflows required to increase efficiency, streamline processes, and help legal to drive outcomes across the wider business, a good legal ops function needs dedicated legal technology. The following types of software solution are commonly used to support effective legal operations:

• E-billing software: This type of software automates invoice management and payment processing, helping legal departments to control their spend and maintain compliance with budgeting guidelines.

• Legal spend management tools: These tools provide visibility into the legal department’s internal and external expenses, enabling teams to track outside counsel spend, forecast future costs, and ensure that budgets are being adhered to.

• Matter management software: Matter management tools help organize and track all legal work, allowing teams to stay on top of deadlines, assign tasks, and communicate effectively. This software also facilitates collaboration with other departments and external counsel, ensuring that legal matters are handled centrally and efficiently.

• Enterprise legal management (ELM) systems: ELM platforms centralize all aspects of in-house legal work, including matter management, contract lifecycle management, and spend. These systems allow legal teams to collaborate efficiently, track case progress, and maintain a central record of work. The most modern ELM is the legal workspace – a comprehensive platform which manages all of legal’s work in one place.

Ready to introduce legal operations into your in-house department?

The role of legal operations is becoming more important by the day as in-house legal departments face pressure to be more agile, efficient, and integrated with their organizations.

An effective legal operations function should target process-driven pain points and utilize dedicated technology to ease workloads, streamline processes, and draw on data to demonstrate the value of legal to the wider business.

To learn more about how legal operations can empower your in-house team to deliver more value, read our whitepaper now.