The Legal Operations Function refers to the systems, processes, tools, and competencies that enable the legal department to operate efficiently, scale effectively, and deliver measurable value to the business.

Historically, legal departments were built around legal expertise – not operational excellence. But as workloads have grown and business demands have intensified, legal teams must now run like high-performance business units.

Legal Operations is the discipline of legal enablement. It ensures that legal teams are not just technically competent, but also strategically aligned, tech-enabled, and performance-driven.

It covers everything from budgeting, vendor management, and technology adoption to process optimisation, data analytics, and service delivery models. It is the backbone of legal department scalability.

Without Legal Operations, legal teams become bottlenecks. With it, they become agile, accountable, and business-integrated.

The Legal Operations Function is important to the Business for the following reasons:

◼️ Scalability: enables the legal team to handle growing workloads

◼️Cost Control: manages legal spend and resource allocation

◼️Efficiency: streamlines legal processes and workflows

◼️Performance Visibility: provides data-driven insights into legal team output

◼️Tech Enablement: drives adoption of legal technology

◼️Vendor Management: optimises external counsel engagement

◼️Service Delivery: improves responsiveness and turnaround times

◼️Strategic Alignment: ensures legal priorities align with business goals

An optimised Legal Operations Function delivers the following value to the Business:

◼️ Productivity Gains: faster, more consistent legal support

◼️Cost Savings: reduced legal spend through smarter resourcing

◼️Data-Driven Decisions: actionable insights from legal performance metrics

◼️Improved Business Engagement: better service delivery to internal clients

◼️Tech ROI: maximised return on legal tech investments

◼️Risk Reduction: fewer errors and missed deadlines

◼️Process Transparency: clear workflows and accountability

◼️Legal Team Morale: reduced burnout and improved job satisfaction

The best practice features of an optimised Legal Operations Function include:

◼️ Legal Ops Strategy: a documented legal operations roadmap

◼️Budgeting & Forecasting: structured legal budget planning

◼️Vendor Management: law firm panels, performance tracking, and fee arrangements

◼️Process Mapping: visualisation of legal workflows

◼️Service Catalogue: defined legal services and delivery standards

◼️Legal Tech Stack: curated suite of legal technology tools

◼️Data Analytics: dashboards and KPIs for legal performance

◼️Project Management: structured approach to legal initiatives

◼️Knowledge Management: centralised repository of legal know-how

◼️Self-Service Tools: tools for business users to access legal support

◼️Change Management: frameworks for legal transformation

◼️Legal Ops Talent: dedicated legal operations personnel

◼️Cross-Functional Collaboration: integration with finance, HR, IT, and procurement

A poorly optimised Legal Operations Function will give rise to the following inefficiencies:

◼️ Workload Bottlenecks: slow turnaround and missed deadlines

◼️Uncontrolled Spend: excessive reliance on external counsel

◼️Low Tech ROI: poor adoption and underutilisation of legal tech

◼️Process Chaos: inconsistent workflows and unclear responsibilities

◼️Data Blindness: lack of visibility into legal team performance

◼️Burnout: overworked legal staff and low morale

◼️Business Frustration: poor service delivery to internal stakeholders

◼️Transformation Failure: stalled legal innovation initiatives

Legal Operations is the most tech-ready function within the legal department. Key tech interventions include:

◼️ Matter Management Systems: tools to track and manage legal work

◼️Spend Management Platforms: tools for budgeting, invoicing, and vendor analytics

◼️Workflow Automation: platforms to automate legal processes

◼️Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM): integrated contract management tools

◼️Document Management Systems (DMS): centralised legal document repositories

◼️Legal Analytics Dashboards: real-time performance tracking

◼️Self-Service Portals: tools for business users to access legal templates and FAQs

◼️Project Management Tools: platforms for managing legal initiatives

Tech is a force multiplier – but only if Legal Operations processes are clearly defined and embedded offline first.

Explore the critical enablers of a high-performing Legal Operations Function via the GLS Legal Transformation Tube Map.

Visit the next station: Legal Dept. Efficiency Audit
Or return to the overall GLS Legal Transformation Tube Map.

The GLS Legal Operations Centre contains everything you need to build a scalable, efficient legal department – or contact GLS to book a consult and we’ll help you embed Legal Operations excellence into your team.