In-House Legal Tip: Legal service request forms are essential

Your diet must include salt, and every legal team must use legal service request forms (“LSRF”). 

GLS has a unique vantage point from which to interpret the state of the in-house legal community. Consider this: 

• Each year we meet with more than 200 in-house teams.
• Each week our intelligence feeds reach more than 5,000 in-house lawyers.
• Each of our LI posts are viewable by over 300,000 in-house lawyers globally. 

With that perspective, we have noted something that we wished was not so: 

Less than 20% of in-house legal teams are systematically using legal services request forms.

Common excuses include: 

1. Too Many Forms: we already have too many forms.
2. Not Ready For It: people are used to doing things that way, and are not ready for it.
3. Will Upset People: the business will be upset by such a change.
4. Personal Touch Preferred: the “personal touch” of a call or chat is preferred.

None of those excuses are valid – not one! 

Today’s in-house legal teams need to be run like a business. This means clear and accurate data that allows for efficient execution and accurate performance reporting.   

If you are not using an LSRF then you are severely limiting the performance capabilities of your legal team. 

The LSRF is the “salt” of the legal dept. diet. Seemingly insignificant – but without it, you end up depleted. Salt is not an optional dietary inclusion. 

In our blog of Legal Operations Essentials: The Legal Services Request Form, we explain why any in-house legal team that is not using an LSRF is essentially running blind! 

We cannot stress this enough. If you are not using an LSRF then you are jeopardizing the future of your legal team. 

Okay – that is our rant over for the week. 

However, given the pressure in-house teams are under – it is frustrating to see such a powerful, simple and zero cost initiative being readily overlooked. 

If you want more in-house legal team performance and career insights – please do join the GLS Legal Operations Community

READY TO TRANSFORM YOUR LEGAL TEAM?

Please check out the GLS solutions and know-how resources listed on the right side of this page – they might assist your legal team with the issues explored in this Blog. 

Of course, if you would like discuss your transformation needs – please book a 30 minute FREE CONSULT WITH GLS 

In the interim, here are 7 resources and tools that may assist you as you transform the performance capabilities of your legal team:

1. GLS's Ultimate Guide to Legal Operations: download this HERE, and read it thoroughly and regularly. It is a wonderful transformation companion

2. GLS Transformation Boot Camp: for our free and hugely successful, 10 week long, email-based boot camp on how to effectively transform your legal team you can SIGN UP HERE

3. GLS Knowledge Centre: click HERE to access lots of informative and instructive white papers, blogs and training resources etc. - all focused on helping to improve your legal team's performance

4. GLS Legal Operations Community: join the GLS Legal Operations Community and collaborate with other in-house leaders as they seek to tackle many of the same performance issues that you face, click here to JOIN NOW

5. Visit GLS Connect: visit the GLS CONNECT PAGE and select the information you would like to receive from the GLS Legal Operations Community

6. GLS Legal Team Transformation Plans: mitigate the risks of transformation failure by taking a GLS TRANSFORMATION SUPPORT PLAN 

7. Register: GLS Legal Operations Centre: REGISTER HERE to access the GLS Legal Operations Centre for free and to receive more than US$20,000 worth of legal team performance resources

© The GLS Group - Law Rewritten