Unlocking the power of data: how in-house legal teams can demonstrate their worth

In-house legal departments are delivering value in spades. They know it. The other departments in their organisations they work with know it. Those sitting around the boardroom table should definitely know it. But proving that value in a numerical sense is something many are struggling to achieve.

In the last decade, we’ve seen in-house legal teams make huge strides forward to integrate within their wider organisations by understanding the inner workings of each department, building trust and rapport with their leaders, aligning their goals with those of the business and demonstrating how they can add value beyond the traditional confines of their roles.

But with this increased profile and added responsibility comes mounting pressure to perform and in-house teams are now being pulled in dozens of different directions.

To manage rising workloads, the majority have turned to legal technology for help, but very few are using these tools to prove the value they’re delivering.

Legal teams need to forge a new path by looking beyond the here and now, taking their investment in legal technology to the next level and using it to showcase their real worth.

Communication

One of the biggest fears for in-house legal counsel is being siloed from the wider organisation. If communication is poor, then their internal reputations, budgets and seat at the boardroom table could be at risk.

It is therefore not surprising to hear that, when asked about their biggest challenges, 54 per cent of respondents said communication with the wider business could be more effective and efficient, according to a new report titled: Escaping the legal labyrinth: using technology to demonstrate value. This figure rose to 71 per cent when looking at general counsel alone.

The most obvious solution to this communication conundrum is to increase internal exposure to the wider business. Sitting down with heads of sales, marketing, product, digital and similar roles to advocate the commercial value of the legal team or establishing cross-departmental workshops or project teams to encourage collaboration.

But could this high-touch approach be hindering communication with the rest of the business instead of improving it?

The majority of in-house legal counsel come from a private practice background, where client relationships reign, so many treat their colleagues in the same way they would their clients.

Instead, other departments want answers to their legal queries and they want them to be delivered in a way that does not require a lengthy conversation with a lawyer. That’s where technology comes in.

A great place to start is by utilising the existing technology already used by other departments within the organisation. If legal teams can communicate directly with other teams via already familiar platform(s) or tool(s) there should be little to no pushback or adoption challenges by the business. This may also present the opportunity to generate metrics and useful management information in a format which is already accepted and understood. Using what’s already in place is also likely to be a cheaper and quicker solution to implement than bringing in new technology.