Digital White Papers

ILTA WHITE PAPER: NOVEMBER 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 8 DATA-DRIVEN OUTSIDE COUNSEL MANAGEMENT Legal spending is becoming increasingly centralized in the operations of in-house legal departments. Operations teams use new technologies, streamlined processes and carefully compiled data to better allocate those dollars. Big Law is no longer the only answer to every problem. Legal operations leverages metrics and dashboards to drive optimal decision- making around what firms to use, which attorneys, staffing levels and when to look at technology solutions, LPOs or insourcing. Operations teams are also changing the status quo by deploying strategic partner programs. These data-driven programs are created by not only reviewing rates and evaluating AFAs, but also by identifying and modifying a broad range of business processes to simplify and drive efficiencies and cost savings. of the GC, providing expertise, extending the GC's influence, providing unbiased insights and guidance, and otherwise helping the GC deliver on the overwhelming number and extensive scope of the GC's responsibilities to the department and the company. The success of the legal operations role is often reflected by its "integration" into business teams: Business teams are looking to legal operations to provide innovative legal operations solutions to meet their commercial goals. For example, legal operations often works with the business to develop integrated, automated product and contract due diligence systems, leveraging business process management (BPM) and e-signature solutions to eliminate manual processes, reduce headcount, increase the speed of completing deals and ensure compliance with company and regulatory compliance requirements. providers, technology companies and others in the corporate legal ecosystem. RUNNING LEGAL LIKE A BUSINESS The core functions of legal operations reflect the many ways that legal departments are now being run like businesses, such as creating strategic plans, managing large budgets, creating partner management programs and developing talent. Today, CEOs and CFOs expect their legal departments to run efficiently and effectively. Legal departments are expected to develop and operate with the same level of thoughtfulness and peak performance as the companies they support. Legal departments must scale, grow, innovate and work to improve a company's bottom line and ideally help drive a competitive advantage for the company. IP portfolios, litigation, M&A activity and other core legal functions are offensive and defensive weapons in the quest for corporate success — they can provide proactive benefits instead of serving a reactive function. To achieve these benefits, GCs are turning to their legal operations executives to help achieve the objectives. They lead, influence, strategize, analyze and deliver plans, key performance indicators (KPIs), benchmark information, technology solutions, budgets, managed service solutions and much more to help their GC achieve functional excellence, not just legal excellence. The legal operations role and legal operations executives are extensions LEGAL OPERATIONS: RELATIVELY NEW AND ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL Legal departments must scale, grow, innovate and work to improve a company's bottom line and ideally help drive a competitive advantage for the company.

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