The Authorised Clients station defines who within the organisation is permitted to instruct or engage the legal department. It effectively defines who the “client” is on the Internal Client Line.

Engaging legal is not a casual act. It consumes scarce expertise, creates legal exposure, and often commits the organisation to cost and risk. 

Mature legal teams therefore treat the ability to instruct legal as an authorised activity, not an open-ended entitlement.

This station is about clarity of authority. It ensures that legal instructions come from individuals who have the mandate, accountability, and business context to do so responsibly.

Without clear authorisation, legal demand becomes uncontrolled, costs escalate invisibly, and accountability erodes.

The Authorised Clients station should define and enable:

◼️ Authorisation Criteria: Who is permitted to instruct legal – this is usually covered off in the Legal Services Charter or a Department FAQ.

◼️ Role-Based Access: Alignment to organisational roles and seniority.

◼️ Delegated Authority Limits: Boundaries around what authorised clients can request.

◼️ Cost Accountability: Clear linkage between instruction and budget ownership.

◼️ Risk Accountability: Instruction implies responsibility for outcomes.

◼️ Interaction with Intake Processes: Authorisation embedded into LSRFs.

◼️ Approval Pathways: Escalation where authority is exceeded.

◼️ Consistency Across the Business: Uniform rules, not local variations.

◼️ Review and Update Mechanisms: Authority evolves with the organisation.

◼️ Transparency: Internal clients understand the rules.

The Authorised Clients station is considered a Specialist resource within the GLS Legal Operations model.

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

A Repeater Resource: Supports the performance of multiple "critical" legal functions and as such represents a "ripple effect" productivity intervention point. 

A Specialist Resource: Is responsible for driving the performance of a very specific part of an individual legal function. Its productivity contribution is limited to that single legal function. 

The best practice features of effective Authorised Client frameworks include:

◼️ Clear Role Definitions: Authority is tied to role, not personality.

◼️ Documented Rules: Authorisation criteria are explicit.

◼️ System-Enforced Controls: Access is embedded in workflows.

◼️ Alignment with Finance: Cost authority matches instruction authority.

◼️ Consistency: Rules apply across all business units.

◼️ Auditability: Instructions can be traced to authorised individuals.

◼️ Integration with Other Stations: Links to mandate, service charter, and cost strategies.

◼️ Ease of Understanding: Simple for the business to follow.

◼️ Change Governance: Authority updates are controlled.

◼️ Leadership Endorsement: Senior backing reinforces compliance.

Clear Authorised Client frameworks deliver business value by:

◼️ Controlling Cost: Legal spend is tied to accountable owners.

◼️ Reducing Risk: Instructions come from informed decision-makers.

◼️ Improving Efficiency: Fewer misdirected or duplicate requests.

◼️ Enhancing Governance: Authority and accountability are aligned.

◼️ Supporting Faster Decisions: Clear rules reduce delay.

◼️ Improving Planning: Legal demand is more predictable.

◼️ Preventing Misuse: Legal is not treated as an unlimited resource.

◼️ Aligning Behaviour: Responsibility shapes demand quality.

◼️ Supporting Scale: Growth does not erode control.

◼️ Building Trust: Legal engagement is disciplined.

For the legal department, Authorised Clients provide:

◼️ Demand Discipline: Requests are more considered.

◼️ Stronger Positioning: Legal authority is respected.

◼️ Reduced Noise: Fewer low-quality instructions.

◼️ Clear Accountability: Legal knows who owns decisions.

◼️ Better Cost Conversations: Alignment with finance and the business.

◼️ Improved Risk Management: Decisions are escalated appropriately.

◼️ Operational Efficiency: Intake processes work as designed.

◼️ Audit Confidence: Clear instruction trails.

◼️ Foundation for Automation: Authority rules support systemisation.

◼️ Sustainable Performance: Legal operates with control.

Authorised Client frameworks are essential for:

◼️ Senior Executives

◼️ Business Unit Leaders

◼️ Finance Teams

◼️ Commercial & Sales Teams

◼️ Procurement Teams

◼️ Project & Transformation Teams

◼️ Risk & Compliance Functions

◼️ Legal Operations Teams

◼️ In-House Legal Teams

◼️ General Counsel

Where Authorised Client frameworks are absent or weak, organisations experience:

◼️ Uncontrolled Demand: Anyone instructs legal.

◼️ Cost Leakage: Spend accumulates without ownership.

◼️ Risk Dilution: Decisions lack accountability.

◼️ Internal Friction: Disputes over who can engage legal.

◼️ Delayed Work: Authority questions stall progress.

◼️ Poor Data Quality: Intake data is unreliable.

◼️ Audit Exposure: Instructions cannot be traced.

◼️ Legal Burnout: Teams are overwhelmed.

◼️ Weak Governance: Authority is unclear.

◼️ Transformation Failure: Controls cannot scale.

Supporting Authorised Clients requires:

◼️ Role-Based Access Controls: Embedded into legal systems.

◼️ Integration with HR Systems: Authority reflects current roles.

◼️ Intake Validation: Requests blocked if unauthorised.

◼️ Audit Trails: Clear records of instruction authority.

◼️ Dashboard Visibility: Oversight of instruction patterns.

◼️ Scalability: Controls hold as the organisation grows.

◼️ Exception Handling: Escalation paths for edge cases.

◼️ Data Integrity: Clean instruction data.

◼️ Security: Protection against misuse.

◼️ Change Enablement: Authority rules evolve safely.