Efficiency is essential in all aspects of life, including the legal field, leading to advancements in legal practices over time.
In the 1960s, U.S. law firms and professionals started discussing ways to provide more efficient legal services at lower costs. The debate has evolved significantly over the past 60 years.
The progress on this front was so significant that it led to the establishment of a new sector, Legal Operations, which introduced the CLOC Core 12 and the 12 competencies recommended for legal offices and departments to enhance their Legal Efficiency.
What does Legal Operations entail?
Legal Operations, also called Legal Ops, involves various procedures and tasks that help legal departments or law firms enhance their efficiency in providing legal services.
It includes not just legal activities, but also strategic planning, finance, project management, and technology.
The idea started to become more popular in the United States during the 1990s. It suggested that legal professionals should shift from administrative tasks to focusing on specialized management and support for legal services, particularly in cost reduction and outsourcing.
The CLOC is an international group of experts dedicated to redefining legal practices by collaborating with professionals from various industries to establish standards and practices for the field.
CLOC Core 12
The community recognizes that every company and team have unique requirements. In response to this, Core 12 is introduced as 12 competencies proposed to enhance the effectiveness of Legal Ops.
- Business Intelligence can be defined as the process of gathering, analyzing, and visualizing data to help organizations make informed decisions.
- Financial management involves the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of financial resources within an organization.
- Management of suppliers
- Information Governance refers to the management of information within an organization.
- Knowledge Management refers to the practice of gathering, storing, and sharing information within an organization.
- Innovative and Sustainable Practices
- Operations – Operating activities
- Project Management involves overseeing and coordinating all aspects of a project from start to finish.
- Management of services
- Strategic planning involves long-term organizational goal-setting and decision-making.
- Advancements in technology
- Training and skill enhancement
How does this method help enhance Legal Efficiency?
Interdisciplinary projects involving legal departments in large companies began to appear in the mid-2000s. These projects aimed to cut costs, enhance control, improve financial management, and align legal operations with business strategy.
A new legal strategic approach, known as Legal Efficiency, emerges from these requirements. It aims to align the company’s strategy with the legal department, facilitating collaboration and direct impact through the integration of various areas and expertise.
Watch the recorded webinar to gain insights into how this topic impacts the financial management of your office or legal department, and learn how aligning these tasks with the business strategy can enhance your performance and outcomes.
See the video beneath
