Recent research reveals trends in measuring the success of legal operations, overcoming the challenges associated with deploying generative AI, promoting innovation, and establishing priorities for automation and contract management.
In April 2024, I was privileged to interview 30 legal operations leaders about the discipline’s maturity and how their teams drive change in corporate law departments for a report published in collaboration with iManage, LegalMation and Neota Logic. The research reveals trends in measuring the success of legal operations, overcoming the challenges associated with deploying generative AI, promoting innovation, and establishing priorities for automation and contract management.
Ninety percent of the participants from a broad range of industries serve as the director of legal operations or in a director-level position associated with legal operations, while 10% are senior managers. Seventy-three percent work with organizations with over $10 billion in 2023 annual revenue, and 97% have more than $1 billion. Seventy-three percent work in organizations with over 10,000 employees, while 97% have over 1,000.
Legal Operations Teams Will Continue to Expand Their Influence and Value
Ninety-three percent of the participants reported that the role of the legal operations professional has changed and expanded. Several described an evolution from administrator to chief of staff and narrowly focused legal support to enterprise-wide innovation executive, which is likely to continue in 2025, given that forty-seven percent noted that their teams have grown within the past 12-18 months. The majority (57%) now manage teams of five more professionals responsible for legal operations.
“It has evolved into more of a leadership role; everyone’s vision of legal operations is so different, but I am more of a de facto chief of staff helping the general counsel execute her vision,” said a director in consumer products. “It was once more administrative and operational, but as we have gotten involved in technology, it has become increasingly strategic, and legal operations professionals are now working on larger projects with bigger budgets,” offered a peer in banking.
Technology Talent Will Accelerate a More Personalized Transformation of Legal Operations
Seventy percent of the respondents advised that new technology applications raise the profile of the legal department. All participants want to automate more tasks, and 83% make accessing legal services easier for their business units. In-house teams are increasingly benefiting from legal front-door applications, process improvements, and low-complexity guidance to remove friction from the provision of legal services within their law departments.
A majority (53%) report that they provide self-serve applications and are building cross-departmental apps or solutions to help them automate broader workflows. “We have Neota applications covering document automation, workflow approval, and legal intake; I really like Neota, it is a great partner, and we have loved working with Neota,” said a leader in insurance.
Yet despite this transition, they are also dedicated to maintaining the personal service that builds trust among their clients. As law departments expand their digital transformation in 2025, they will find more ways to complement each new tool with tailored services. “Our business units know who to call and want a human connection to legal without the interference of technology,” said a leader in manufacturing.
Corporate Law Departments Will Elevate Optimism About AI
In-house teams are already enthusiastic and optimistic about artificial intelligence, and that momentum will surely build in 2025. 80% report that their legal departments are already using AI. 50% claimed to be specifically deploying generative AI, though 47% acknowledged a fear of generative AI in their legal department. On a scale of 1-5, with five being the highest, half of the participants rated the level of familiarity that legal operations professionals have with AI tools and best practices at a one or a two. None suggested that it is a five, but that will improve in the New Year as expertise expands.
Ninety percent also integrate their technology systems, which is especially important as they continue to deploy generative AI. Almost a third (30%) conveyed that specific AI companies like LegalMation have provided meaningful ROI by enhancing their workflows. Sixty percent have a timeline for wanting to use AI, and 97% continue to evaluate areas to automate and future-proof their organization.
More Teams Will Use More Metrics to Support Digital Transformation
A majority (60%) of legal operations teams surveyed use metrics to show the utility of a technology platform. “When we implement technology, we make a strong business case and track the return,” said one leader in insurance. “We have an embedded data analytics function because whenever we launch a new platform, we want to ensure we serve our stakeholders’ needs,” added a colleague in technology.
Metrics will also fuel initiatives to enhance productivity. “For LegalMation, we calculated how many hours it helped us reduce, so it was an easy comparison, and for case management, we look at the benefits of the ease of communication,” offered another in insurance. “We do this with iManage, studying who uses it and how they file emails with it,” said a peer, also in insurance.
Legal Operations Teams Will Assuming Great Control of Contract Management
Sixty-three percent of the respondents are responsible for contracts, and 67% believe that legal should, in whole or in part, own the management of these agreements. The two most common candidates cited to own contracts were legal and procurement, with several suggestions that finance, IT, or the business units should have sole or joint control. Since 77% of legal operations teams have a CLM platform, 87% anticipate a rise in the use of CLM in the legal department, and 43% expect their spending on CLM to increase, they are likely to drive further innovation in this area. “Legal operations is responsible for or coordinates the discussions and has a more influential voice for tools that come across legal,” offered a participant in telecommunications.
Conclusion
Although there is enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, law department leaders are implementing it with measured optimism. Most are using it, while almost half still fear generative AI despite seeing meaningful ROI in their workflows. The legal department is also streamlining operations by combining direct support with self-service options, which a majority are offering, such as applications covering document automation, workflow approval, and legal intake built with Neota.
And document and contract management remain top priorities with a strong foundation given that more than three-quarters of the participants have a CLM platform and almost two-thirds are responsible for contracts, using a range of tools to centralize their agreements and raise their visibility into a company’s document portfolio. “iManage will help centralize our agreements and increase our visibility into the company’s contract portfolio,” advised a participant in real estate.
As the legal operations discipline matures, it will become an even more ubiquitous field that supports an organization’s macro growth and client service goals beyond legal, elevating the entire team and spotlighting the evolution of the corporate law department. “We are in a migration period and also changing tools, so we have high visibility,” noted a leader in consumer products.
Ari Kaplan is a legal industry analyst who publishes benchmarking reports on legal technology trends and is an experienced webinar and conference facilitator.
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