PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 50
BEST PRACTICES FEATURES
Move Law
Departments
In-house legal departments
today must manage ever-increasing
risk and compliance challenges, and
increasing litigation costs. They not
only face the budgetary pressures
familiar to all corporate functions,
but they now must evolve from a
company cost center into a strategic
business partner. These requirements
force law departments to do more
with less, while they must also
increase visibility, predictability and
responsiveness.
In-house legal departments
traditionally have not invested in
building the skills, processes and tools
to support this evolution. However, it
is time for law departments to move
up the value chain and drive business
value for the enterprise.
THE MATURITY CURVE
Think about this evolution by imagining legal departments
falling in different stages on a maturity curve:
Departments in this stage
primarily react to mitigate
known risks. They have
undefined and/or inefficient
business processes, operate as an
independent silo with infrequent
interdepartmental collaboration,
and have a reputation as a cost
of doing business.
Here a law department is cost-
efficient and uses predictable,
repeatable processes to respond
to internal and external needs.
It is viewed as a valued partner
often brought in by the business
to facilitate solutions.
Law departments in this stage
drive positive bottom line
business results by optimizing
legal spending and performance.
The department operates
with foresight to protect the
company's brand and reputation
by preventing risks from
becoming legal issues. The team
leverages data to predict likely
outcomes and support informed
business decision-making.
Legal As a Cost Center
Legal As a Tactical
Success
Legal As a Competitive
Advantage
the Enterprise
Value Chain
UP
