Those 3 no regrets decisions

Low Risk | High Return | Deliverable

Whatever the size of the team. Whatever the target legal operating model. Whatever the sector. There are three ‘no-regrets’ decisions for legal departments that can help them identify what work they should do, what work they should not do and what work can be self-served. Decisions that free their scarcest resource, their people, to focus on higher-value work. Decisions that deliver actionable data to help evolve the legal operating model. Decisions that are low risk, high return and deliverable.

1. Intake and Allocation

All roads lead to intake and allocation management. How can we evolve our operating model if we do not know what work we have, where it has come from, who we allocated it to, where it is in the process, why we closed it? Effective intake management ensures the legal team has complete instructions it can action. It reduces failure demand. It provides insight as to the packages of work that can be self-served, redirected, outsourced, insourced. It frees legal and makes it easier for the business to get support. 

2. Self Service

With intake management routed by configured to work type request forms, the information and responses provided by Business Users drives self-service (whether the information is pre-populated through integration and/or manually input). Legal controls both the rules and the Templates (letters, forms, checklist, boiler plate contracts), with Business Users self-served depending on their answers. A better experience for Business Users and, while still maintaining control, it frees scarce legal resource to focus on higher value work.

3. Outside Counsel Management

How, as we free our team so they can handle higher value work, do we make sure that only the appropriate work is allocated externally? How do we ensure that the right external partners are doing the right work, in the right way, at the right price, managed consistently and transparently? Understanding why work is being allocated to Outside Counsel (capacity, capability, expertise…) helps shape the eco system, the legal operating model, an organization needs.