Building Your Case For Legal Team Transformation

Too much work and not enough resources

Every GC we speak with complains of not having enough people, enough money, and/or enough time whilst their workloads are increasing exponentially. It is quite likely that you are no exception.

The case for developing legal operations competency centers around 4 key and irrefutable principles:

Premise 1: IHLs are required to support the growing legal & compliance requirements of businesses.

Premise 2: The resources available to most IHL teams are finite and/or reducing.

Premise 3: The IHL function has traditionally been seen as a “cost center”, which must now justify its existence by reference to its contribution of demonstrable value to the business.

Premise 4: IHLs must now start to speak the “hard numbers” language of the business if they are to attract value recognition and required resourcing.

As obvious as the above may seem, we like to offer another super accessible case for legal operations that is perhaps the easiest of all to digest. It is as follows:

Formula 1 drivers do not wash their own car

“Formula 1 race teams do not ask their drivers (their most expensive team members) to clean the car, check the tyres, tune the engine or transport the car to the next race, etc.”

They want their drivers to focus on their primary responsibilities – driving the car as fast as possible, avoiding accidents, turning in fast lap times, securing pole positions and trying to stay ahead of the pack.

The IHL team is like the F1 race team – it comprises high-performance, expensive, and task-focused team members who have been trained for a specific function.

But unlike the F1 team, IHL teams are often bogged down by tasks that prevent them from focusing on performing in the areas where they are needed most and performing the best.

The sad reality is that IHLs, like most lawyers, are fundamentally helpful people, rarely say “no”, and too frequently agree to take on extra work. In short, many IHLs lose their strategic focus because they are simply
too helpful

We explore the case for legal team transformation through legal ops-led improvement programs in Part C of GLS's Ultimate Guide to Legal Operations. 

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. 

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