Legal Operations is the strategic discipline that enables legal departments to function as high-performing, business-aligned service units - which GLS has been able to reduce to a free, simple to apply, yet powerful decison-making framework for legal dept resourcing decisions -called RPLV.  

On the Human Capital Line, Legal Operations impacts the environment in which the in-house lawyer works as all too often even the most talented lawyers find themselves trapped in reactive cycles, buried in manual tasks, and disconnected from the business’s strategic goals.

So legal operations involves  focusing on optimising legal department processes and working conditions  - including a focus on systems, processes, tools, and metrics that support the delivery of legal services - with a view to freeing lawyers to focus on high-value legal work. 
 

Whilst organisations like CLOC and ACC might offer a complex definition of legal operations encompassing many core processes, GLS define legal ops to be “anything that help drive enhanced productivity per unit of lawyer effort” - and we stress anything. 

Critically, GLS recognising that most in-house legal teams will not have a squad of legal ops experts on staff, or unlimited budget - we advocate that Legal Operations as being a state of mind which must be adopted by every in-house legal team member - and most especially in-house leadership. 

We have written the GLS Ultimate Guide To Legal Operations to explain the key principles of legal operations thinking - and where we set out  pathway for any legal team to boost its productiivity outcomes by more than 33% witout requiring any additional budget. 

The Legal Operations Line on the GLS Legal Transformation Tube Map is dedicated to the optimisation of every operational station that supports legal team performance. Legal Operations is not just a support function - it is the strategic capability that enables every other Station to deliver more.

The scope of Legal Operations is expansive and touches every aspect of legal team performance. Most importantly, it encompasses the optimisation of every Station on the GLS Legal Transformation Tube Map, including:

◼️Strategic Planning & Governance – Aligning legal team goals with business objectives and managing transformation initiatives.

◼️Financial Management – Budgeting, cost control, and external spend optimisation.

◼️Vendor & External Counsel Management – Governance of external legal service providers.

◼️Technology Enablement – Selection, implementation, and integration of legal tech across all stations.

◼️Process & Workflow Optimisation – Designing and refining procedures to support scalable, repeatable legal service delivery.

◼️Performance Measurement & Reporting – Defining KPIs and tracking legal team output across all functions.

◼️Knowledge & Resource Management – Capturing and sharing legal know-how to support team development and consistency.

◼️Service Delivery Models – Structuring how legal services are requested, triaged, and fulfilled.

In GLS legal ops speak – the Legal Operations 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 Legal Operations are as follows:

◼️Board-Endorsed Strategy – Legal Ops is recognised as a strategic function, not just administrative support.

◼️Adequate Coverage – Legal Ops supports and optimises every station on the GLS Legal Transformation Tube Map.

◼️Future Readiness – Legal Ops is designed to support automation, AI, and digital transformation.

◼️Delegation Ready – Legal Ops enables junior lawyers to take on more responsibility through structured workflows and support systems.

◼️Integrated Technology Stack – Legal Ops tools are embedded into daily legal workflows and aligned with enterprise systems.

◼️Performance Dashboards – Real-time visibility into legal team activity, service levels, and business impact.

◼️Process Ownership & Continuous Improvement – Legal Ops leads the refinement of legal processes across the department.

◼️Cross-Functional Collaboration – Legal Ops connects legal with finance, HR, procurement, and IT to ensure enterprise alignment.

The Legal Operations station delivers the following value to the Business:

◼️Faster Legal Turnaround – Structured workflows and prioritisation reduce delays.

◼️Cost Efficiency – Optimised use of internal and external legal resources.

◼️Improved Governance – Legal Ops ensures compliance, consistency, and accountability.

◼️Scalable Legal Support – Legal can grow with the business without increasing headcount.

◼️Strategic Alignment – Legal services are delivered in sync with business priorities.

We explore the full spectrum of legal ops in our blog Can Legal Ops Benefit All Legal Teams?

For the legal team, Legal Operations provides:

◼️Productivity – Lawyers are empowered by clear processes, tools, and support to achieve more, faster.

◼️Development – Junior lawyers develop faster, guided by structured workflows and performance feedback.

◼️Operational Clarity – Legal Ops defines how work is requested, routed, and delivered.

◼️Morale Boost – Reduced admin and improved visibility increase job satisfaction.

◼️Transformation Capability – Legal Ops enables innovation and continuous improvement.

◼️Performance Recognition – Legal Ops provides the data to demonstrate legal’s value.

The Legal Operations station is essential for:

◼️Legal Department Leadership

◼️In-House Counsel

◼️Legal Operations Teams

◼️HR & Talent Managers

◼️Executive Management

◼️Risk & Compliance Officers

◼️Internal Audit Functions

A legal team operating without a Legal Operations strategy will face a wide range of inefficiencies including:

◼️Poor visibility into legal team performance

◼️Inability to scale legal support with business growth

◼️Over-reliance on manual processes and ad hoc workflows

◼️Increased legal spend due to unmanaged external counsel

◼️Low morale due to administrative overload

◼️Missed opportunities for innovation and transformation

You can explore the case for legal operations, ie. the outward manifestations of legal team under performance in our Blog - 

Legal Operations is a technology-leveraged and technology-enabling function:

◼️Legal Ops Platforms – Centralise workflows, requests, and performance tracking.

◼️Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) – Automate contract creation, negotiation, and storage.

◼️Matter Management Systems – Track legal work and resource allocation.

◼️Analytics Dashboards – Provide real-time insights into legal team performance.

◼️Budgeting Tools – Monitor legal spend and forecast resource needs.

◼️Collaboration Tools – Connect legal with other business functions.

Legal Operations is the bridge between legal and enterprise technology.