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Right-Resourcing Legal Services

By Chase D'Agostino and Andy Banquer
December 01, 2020

What is the right strategic approach for a legal department to optimize its return on investment for the resources it deploys to render legal services? Of course, there are many ways to get good results, but after helping many corporations navigate their way to a more effective model, here are some lessons learned along the way.

Step 1: Conduct an Assessment

Start by analyzing the work currently performed by the legal department. This assessment would include volumes, strategic importance and complexity level of the work, while also looking at the level of skill and effort required to complete it. Track the level of effort spent by different resources (in-house lawyers, contract specialists, legal service providers, external counsel) and the cost of providing support. Though in-house counsel shudder at the prospect of tracking time, even a few weeks of time tracking can provide meaningful data. Outside counsel and legal service providers should already be tracking and categorizing time by task or project.

Map out the processes currently used to complete legal work, starting with requests for new work, where and how technology is used, what resources are involved in the process and what tasks they are undertaking. Look at the current state of content (templates, playbooks, policies, processes and governance), as well as the data produced and how that data is used.

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