The Quality Assurance (GC’s Edition) station is a strategic leadership asset that empowers the General Counsel to define, embed, and uphold standards of excellence across the legal team. It’s about ensuring that every piece of legal work - whether advisory, transactional, or operational - is delivered to a standard that reflects the GC’s expectations and the business’s needs.

Quality assurance in the legal context is not just about error reduction - it’s about consistency, commercial relevance, and strategic alignment. The GC must establish what “good” looks like, communicate it clearly, and build systems that reinforce it across the team. This includes setting expectations for legal advice, responsiveness, stakeholder engagement, and professional conduct.

Without a formalised quality assurance framework, legal teams risk delivering inconsistent outputs, eroding stakeholder trust, and missing opportunities to add strategic value. The GC’s leadership in this area ensures that the legal function is not only technically sound but also commercially impactful and operationally reliable.

Ultimately, this station positions the GC as the architect of legal excellence - ensuring that the legal team operates with discipline, pride, and a shared commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes.

The scope of the Quality Assurance (GC’s Edition) station includes:

◼️Defining quality standards for legal outputs and behaviours

◼️Establishing review and feedback mechanisms across the team

◼️Embedding quality expectations into onboarding and training

◼️Creating templates, playbooks, and checklists to support consistency

◼️Monitoring stakeholder satisfaction and feedback

◼️Identifying and addressing recurring quality issues

◼️Promoting a culture of continuous improvement

◼️Aligning quality standards with business expectations and risk appetite

In GLS legal ops speak – the Quality Assurance is considered a “Foundational” resource within the process ecosystem of an in-house legal team.

The Foundational Resource is a CRE that is responsible for determining the overall performance capabilities of a “critical” legal function. If it is not optimised, the function can never be optimised. 

The best practice features of the GLP are as follows:

◼️A documented quality assurance framework tailored to legal team outputs

◼️GC-led articulation of what “good” looks like across key legal activities

◼️Embedded review cycles and peer feedback mechanisms

◼️Standardised templates and guidance materials to support consistency

◼️Stakeholder feedback loops to monitor satisfaction and relevance

◼️Continuous improvement processes to refine standards over time

◼️Quality metrics integrated into team performance reviews

◼️Training and onboarding programs that reinforce quality expectations

The Quality Assurance (GC’s Edition) station delivers the following value to the Business:

◼️Faster Deal-Making: High-quality legal outputs reduce rework, accelerate approvals, and build trust with business units - speeding up commercial execution.

◼️Cost Savings: Consistent quality reduces the need for external counsel intervention, minimises errors, and avoids costly delays or disputes.

◼️Time Efficiency: Clear standards and templates streamline legal workflows, allowing faster turnaround and better resource utilisation.

◼️Improved Risk Management: Quality assurance ensures that legal advice is accurate, relevant, and aligned with the business’s risk appetite - reducing exposure.

◼️Enhanced Business Confidence: When legal consistently delivers high-quality outputs, business stakeholders engage earlier and more often - strengthening collaboration and strategic alignment.

◼️Brand Protection: High-quality legal work helps safeguard the business’s reputation by ensuring compliance, clarity, and professionalism in all legal interactions.

For the legal team, the Quality Assurance (GC’s Edition) station delivers:

◼️Clarity of Expectations: Team members understand what is expected of them, reducing ambiguity and improving confidence in their work.

◼️Professional Development: Feedback mechanisms and quality reviews help lawyers grow, refine their skills, and deliver more impactful work.

◼️Team Cohesion: Shared standards foster a sense of unity and pride in the team’s outputs, reinforcing a culture of excellence.

◼️Reduced Rework: Clear guidance and templates minimise errors and inconsistencies, saving time and reducing frustration.

◼️Performance Visibility: Quality metrics provide a transparent view of individual and team performance, supporting fair recognition and accountability.

◼️GC Empowerment: The GC gains greater control over the team’s output quality, enabling more strategic deployment of resources and better stakeholder engagement.

◼️Operational Resilience: A quality-focused legal team is better equipped to handle high volumes, complex matters, and evolving business needs without compromising standards.

The Quality Assurance (GC’s Edition) station is essential for:

◼️Legal departments seeking consistent excellence

◼️GCs aiming to elevate team performance and stakeholder trust

◼️Legal teams operating in high-volume or high-risk environments

◼️Organisations with complex regulatory or operational demands

A legal team operating without a Quality Assurance (GC’s Edition) station will face a wide range of inefficiencies including:

◼️Inconsistent legal outputs and stakeholder dissatisfaction

◼️Increased rework and slower turnaround times

◼️Reduced credibility and influence of the legal team

◼️Higher reliance on external counsel for quality control

◼️Missed opportunities to add strategic value

◼️Difficulty in measuring and improving team performance

This station leverages technology to support quality assurance. Document automation tools, workflow platforms, and feedback systems can help standardise outputs, track performance, and facilitate continuous improvement. Tech also enables real-time collaboration and version control, reducing errors and enhancing consistency.