Legal Ops. Personnel is the station that tackles one of the most persistent and under-discussed challenges in legal transformation: how to find, train, and retain the right people to lead and execute legal operations.

Legal operations is still a relatively new discipline. There is no universally accepted career path, and formal vocational training options are scarce. As a result, legal ops roles are often filled by paralegals who transition into the space – frequently without the respect of lawyers due to professional snobbery – or by lawyers themselves, who cross over but remain stunningly expensive assets. In both cases, the return on investment can be questionable.

The lack of structured training means that many legal ops professionals are learning on the job, without a clear framework or support system. This undermines their ability to deliver impact and slows down transformation efforts. Legal teams need personnel who are not only operationally savvy but also strategically aligned with the business.

GLS, in partnership with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department, has developed the GLS-DLAD Legal Operations Certification – a comprehensive, vocational programme designed to address this exact gap. Built around ten modules, the course equips participants with the skills, tools, and frameworks needed to stand up and lead legal operations functions that deliver real-world impact. It is the only programme of its kind that blends practical application, strategic insight, and global best practice into a single, accessible certification.

Legal Ops. Personnel covers the following key areas:

◼️Talent Acquisition: Identifying and recruiting individuals with the aptitude and mindset for legal operations.

◼️Role Definition: Clarifying responsibilities and expectations for legal ops roles across different legal environments.

◼️Training & Certification: Providing structured learning pathways to build core competencies, such as the GLS-DLAD Legal Ops Certification.

◼️Career Pathing: Creating progression frameworks to retain and grow legal ops talent.

◼️Cross-Functional Integration: Ensuring legal ops personnel can collaborate effectively across departments like finance, procurement, and IT.

◼️Performance Management: Establishing KPIs and feedback loops for legal ops roles.

◼️Cultural Alignment: Addressing professional snobbery and embedding respect for legal ops.

◼️Strategic Deployment: Placing legal ops personnel where they can deliver the most value and impact.

In GLS legal ops speak – the Legal Ops. Personnel CRE 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:

◼️Vocational Training Access: Legal ops personnel have access to structured, real-world training like the GLS-DLAD Certification.

◼️Defined Role Profiles: Clear articulation of legal ops responsibilities and deliverables.

◼️Strategic Hiring: Recruitment based on aptitude, not just legal background.

◼️Respectful Integration: Legal ops personnel are treated as equal contributors, not second-tier staff.

◼️Career Development Plans: Pathways for growth and promotion within legal ops.

◼️Performance Metrics: KPIs that reflect operational impact and transformation contribution.

◼️Cross-Functional Literacy: Legal ops staff understand finance, procurement, and tech environments.

◼️Leadership Enablement: Legal ops professionals are empowered to lead transformation initiatives.

The Legal Ops. Personnel station delivers the following value to the Business:

◼️Operational Efficiency: Skilled legal ops staff streamline processes and reduce friction.

◼️Cost Control: Legal ops roles deliver high impact at lower cost than traditional legal hires.

◼️Transformation Acceleration: Trained personnel drive faster implementation of legal ops initiatives.

◼️Cross-Departmental Synergy: Legal ops staff bridge gaps between legal and business units.

◼️Scalable Legal Support: Legal ops enables legal teams to do more with less.

◼️Revenue Enablement: Legal ops personnel help unlock value through smarter contracting, risk management, and process optimisation.

For the legal team, Legal Ops. Personnel is the difference between transformation theory and transformation reality.

◼️Execution Capability: Legal ops staff turn strategy into action.

◼️Team Relief: Lawyers are freed from operational tasks to focus on legal work.

◼️Cultural Shift: Legal ops introduces a performance and metrics-driven mindset.

◼️Innovation Enablement: Legal ops personnel are often the first to adopt and champion new tools.

◼️Sustainable Growth: Legal ops provides the structure needed to scale legal support.

◼️Professionalisation: Legal ops becomes a respected and recognised career path within the legal ecosystem.

The Legal Ops. Personnel station is essential for:

◼️General Counsel and Heads of Legal

◼️Legal Operations Leaders

◼️Transformation and Strategy Leads

◼️HR and Talent Acquisition Teams

◼️CFOs and COOs seeking operational efficiency

A legal team operating without a Legal Ops. Personnel framework will face a wide range of inefficiencies including:

◼️Inability to execute legal transformation strategies

◼️Over-reliance on expensive legal talent for operational tasks

◼️Poor ROI on legal ops roles due to lack of training

◼️Low morale and unclear career paths for legal ops staff

◼️Fragmented collaboration between legal and business units

◼️Missed opportunities to optimise legal service delivery

Legal Ops. Personnel is not a tech station per se, but it is deeply tech-reliant. Legal ops professionals are often the primary users and champions of legal tech platforms – from CLM systems to dashboards and analytics tools. Their ability to understand and deploy technology is critical to the success of legal transformation initiatives.

GLS, in partnership with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department, has developed the GLS-DLAD Legal Operations Certification – a comprehensive, vocational programme designed to address this exact gap. Built around ten modules, the course equips participants with the skills, tools, and frameworks needed to stand up and lead legal operations functions that deliver real-world impact. It is the only programme of its kind that blends practical application, strategic insight, and global best practice into a single, accessible certification.

Read more here: https://www.gls-legaloperations.com/tenk-pdf/Course_Brochure_GLS_DLAD_Legal_Ops_Certification.pdf

PPA: Why is it hard to hire legal operations professionals?
Answer: Legal operations is a relatively new discipline with few formal training pathways. Many legal ops professionals come from paralegal or legal backgrounds but lack structured vocational training, making recruitment and ROI challenging.

PPA: What is the GLS-DLAD Legal Ops Certification?
Answer: It’s a comprehensive, vocational training programme developed by GLS in partnership with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department. It covers ten modules designed to equip legal ops professionals with real-world skills and frameworks.

PPA: Can lawyers transition into legal ops roles?
Answer: Yes, but they often remain expensive assets and may lack the operational mindset needed for legal ops. Structured training is essential to ensure ROI and effectiveness.

PPA: What skills do legal ops professionals need?
Answer: Legal ops professionals need skills in process optimisation, data analysis, project management, legal tech, and cross-functional collaboration – all of which are covered in the GLS-DLAD Certification.

PPA: Why is legal ops often undervalued in legal teams?
Answer: Professional snobbery, unclear role definitions, and lack of formal training contribute to legal ops being undervalued. However, with the right frameworks and education, legal ops can become a strategic asset.