Special Project Resourcing is the station that enables legal teams to plan, mobilise, and optimise legal support for strategic, non-BAU initiatives - using data to drive every decision. Whether it’s M&A, market entry, regulatory reform, or transformation programs, this station ensures legal is ready to contribute meaningfully, without compromising core service delivery.

Most legal teams are structured around business-as-usual (BAU) workloads. But special projects demand concentrated legal effort, often at short notice and with high stakes. Without a data-backed resourcing strategy, legal becomes a bottleneck - or worse, is excluded from the table.

This station leverages legal operations analytics to forecast demand, assess capacity, and match skills to project needs. It uses dashboards to visualise team availability, workload distribution, and performance trends. It enables legal leaders to make informed decisions about secondments, temporary reassignments, and external support - all based on real-time data.

Ultimately, Special Project Resourcing is about legal agility powered by insight. It transforms legal from a reactive service provider into a proactive business enabler - one that can respond to strategic opportunities with speed, precision, and credibility.

The Special Project Resourcing station typically includes:

◼️Project Demand Forecasting – Using business planning data to anticipate legal support needs.

◼️Modelling – Leveraging analytics to assess team availability and workload saturation.

◼️Skills Mapping – Identifying legal expertise and matching it to project requirements.

◼️Secondment Planning – Structuring internal reassignments with clear objectives and timelines.

◼️Outsourcing Strategy – Engaging external providers for overflow or specialist support.

◼️Resourcing Governance – Defining protocols for approval, allocation, and performance tracking.

◼️Performance Monitoring – Using dashboards to track legal contribution to project outcomes.

◼️Integration with BAU Planning – Ensuring core services remain uninterrupted.

In GLS legal ops, the Special Project Resourcing is considered a "Repeater" resource within legal operations.

A Repeater Resource: Supports multiple legal functions, ensuring that structured legal requests improve contracting, dispute resolution, compliance, and advisory services.

A well-structured Special Project Resourcing enhances legal team productivity, reduces wasted time, and improves service delivery across the organization.

The best practice features of the GLP are as follows:

◼️A forward-looking legal project calendar aligned with enterprise planning cycles.

◼️Capacity dashboards showing team availability, utilisation rates, and workload distribution.

◼️A skills matrix integrated with legal performance data to support targeted deployment.

◼️A secondment framework with defined objectives, durations, and feedback loops.

◼️Pre-approved outsourcing arrangements for rapid deployment and cost control.

◼️Governance protocols for resource allocation and prioritisation.

◼️Analytics tools to monitor legal impact on project milestones and outcomes.

◼️Integration with legal budgeting and strategic planning systems.

The Special Project Resourcing station delivers the following value to the Business:

◼️Cost Savings – Avoids over-resourcing or under-delivery through targeted deployment.

◼️Time Savings – Accelerates legal mobilisation for strategic initiatives.

◼️Faster Deal Making – Ensures legal is ready to support high-value transactions.

◼️Strategic Enablement – Aligns legal capacity with business transformation goals.

◼️Continuity – Maintains BAU service levels while supporting special projects.

Legal teams benefit from Special Project Resourcing through:

◼️Improved visibility into team capacity, skill sets, and performance trends.

◼️Enhanced ability to support strategic business initiatives without disruption.

◼️Stronger internal mobility and career development opportunities.

◼️Reduced burnout and better workload balance.

◼️Data to support headcount, budget, and investment planning.

◼️Increased credibility as a responsive, agile business partner.

The Special Project Resourcing station is essential for:

◼️General Counsel

◼️Heads of Legal Operations

◼️Legal Transformation Leads

◼️CFOs and Finance Business Partners

◼️Procurement and Vendor Managers

◼️Business Unit Leaders seeking legal support

A legal team operating without a Special Project Resourcing capability will face a wide range of inefficiencies including:

◼️Inability to support strategic initiatives without disrupting BAU.

◼️Reactive resource allocation and missed deadlines.

◼️Poor visibility into team capacity and skill availability.

◼️Over-reliance on ad hoc outsourcing or internal fire-fighting.

◼️Reduced credibility in business planning and transformation efforts.

Special Project Resourcing leverages technology. It benefits from:

◼️Capacity planning and workload tracking tools.

◼️Skills databases and resource allocation platforms.

◼️Project management systems for legal task coordination.

◼️Integration with matter management and performance dashboards.

◼️Collaboration tools for cross-functional project support.