Transformingthe legal function: what will your team look like in 2020?

the law firm clients would design www.asb-law.com

BrainWeave from the Corporate Counsel Exchange 2014

We asked each attendee to imagine that they could jump forward five years from now and survey the landscape.

What might the legal function look like in 2020? How might the perspectives of the Head of Legal and the Board differ?

On 17 October 2014, over 30 of the biggest drivers of change came together for our BrainWeave session at the 11th Corporate Counsel Exchange in Amsterdam to share their insights into the future of the legal function and to exchange ideas on the steps that may be taken today to ensure legal teams are ready for the challenges of the future.

the law firm clients would design

Here’s a summary of their collective views and the advice they gave to their modern day selves to help future-proof their teams.

People

Your action plan - preparing people• Map the business need and design your team

• Scope the external market for suitable suppliers and technology

• Implement an appropriate learning and development programme

• Manage talent and design career paths

• Implement qualitative and quantitative metrics to demonstrate value

Fewer people

Greaterdiversity

Differentskills and

roles

Alternativestructure

General Counsel on the Board

Deliveringreal value

On-going pressure on

legal budgets and enhanced efficiency will

lead to an increased reliance on

technology and “right-sourcing”.

A progressively globalised

workplace and emphasis on

diversity in law schools and

recruitment will result in greater

ethnic and cultural diversity.

Business enablers

achieving greater business intimacy to promote brand

and earn trust.

Specialist and varied skills.

Greater mix of legal/non-legal.

Flatter structure with alternative career paths, higher salaries

and more specialist roles to incentivise and retain talent.

More agile working patterns.

GC’s role will be advisory and

strategic.

Creation of a CLO role.

Managing legal risk and

producing viable and tangible

solutions.

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In-house lawyers are striding ahead as the biggest drivers of change in the legal industry.

FT Report: Innovative Lawyers 2014, 9 October 2014

Process

Outcome-focused

Client-centric

Streamlinedand

efficient

Right-sourcing/tasking

Business “Self

Service”

Reinforcing ethics

Designed and driven according

to risk profile rather than

legal process or desire

to achieve perfection.

Meeting needs of internal

stakeholders and external customers.

Mapped and analysed to

remove waste. Culture of

continuous improvement.

Standard form documentation and increased application of technology.

Work allocated and leveraged

efficiently.

Routine work out-sourced.

Specialist and core activities undertakenin-house.

Enable business “self-service”

for routine matters through standardisation,

training and specialist

technology.

Balancing corporate

expediency with preservation

of ethics.

Lyndsey Ratcliffe, PartnerE: lyndsey.ratcliffe@asb-law.com

T: +44 (0)1293 603611

Your action plan - streamlining processes• Assess business need and legal coverage

• Map and re-engineer processes as necessary

• Review work allocation process and consider legal triage

• Standardise appropriate documentation

• Support self-service and educate the business

Information

Even bigger data

Ever increasing regulation

GenerationY

Better

management

information

Metrics to

demonstrate

value

Greater reliance on technology

Ever increasing volumes of

digital data, new technologies

and alternative platforms.

Greater use of social media.

Greater emphasis on data

protection and privacy.

Challenge to manage

from a global perspective.

Technology savvy generation

demanding immediate results

on a global perspective.

Different expectations,

less formal communication.

On going pressure to

reduce costs, improve efficiency and demonstrate

value will drive the need for better MI.

Greater analysis of MI will lead

to imposition of quantitative and

qualitative metrics and greater use

of SLAs and KPIs.

Technology becomes

essential to manage volume of digital data.

Your action plan - managing information• Develop your strategy to respond to ever increasing data

• Assess how data is captured, analysed and reported to the business

• Consider what further MI the business might require

• Review how cost is apportioned and financial value/quality measured

• Implement quantitative and qualitative metrics to demonstrate value

We concluded our BrainWeave with an introduction to legal triaging which enables in-house teams to deliver greater value to the business by ensuring that the right level of service and response is provided at the right cost. More details are available in our paper An Introduction to Legal Triage.

We would be delighted to support you with the evolution of the legal function. Contact us for details of our legal management consultancy service.

www.asb-law.com

Paperless E-signatureE-billing

Alternative methods of

delivery

Driving efficiency

Supporting agile

working

Managing risk

All information will be created, exchanged and stored digitally.

Paper based systems will

be replaced by efficient electronic

solutions.

Fewer emails and meetings. Greater

use of video conferencing,

instant messaging and internet based

advice.

Less formal communication.

Enabling technologies

will drive standardisation

and support year on year cost reductions.

Technology will enable flexible and remote

working.

Technology will be used to enable smarter business advice and identify and

mitigate business and operational

risk.

Technology

Your action plan - investing in technology• Embrace technology – it is the future

• Identify needs, map data and evaluate current systems

• Scope legal technology market and research solutions

• Develop business case for any investment

• Identify training needs and implement suitable training programme

Conclusions

It is clear that the next five years will see further radical change driven by on going pressures on legal budgets, the ever expanding role of General Counsel, and demands from the business for better alignment with strategy and the delivery of tangible value.

The provision of legal services will however remain the primary function of the legal department and you have shared your strategies for future-proofing your departments against the changes identified in this paper.

The greatest challenge remains driving efficiency through operational performance and you all agreed that it was essential to capture, analyse and report on key metrics to demonstrate the value you deliver to your business.

You can talk about facts till you are blue in the face, but it’s metrics that really make people stand up and listen.

Chris Fowler, GC for UK Commercial Legal Services at BT

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