GC Benefit By Partnering With Legal Ops

Forward-looking general counsel adopt legal operations as a key component of their strategic plan, says Andrea Bricca, a Partner with legal search firm Major, Lindsey & Africa. She notes that according to a COO who spoke at a recent CLOC event, for anyone with a goal of moving from general counsel to CEO in career progression, the information available to the GC from an effective legal operations program could be key. A lawyer aiming to be a general counsel should understand how Legal Ops helps the department. The institutional knowledge gained can help GCs be better business partners. That will better equip them to advise CEOs and boards, and potentially rise to CEO. The area of legal operations most in-house lawyers start with is contract management. As the operation of the department matures, e-billing and e-discovery are often folded into the mix. The added technology and the data it provides help with vendor selection and oversight, and lead to more effective financial discipline and legal spend management. Legal ops systems can help general counsel manage outside counsel spend and risk — things that are important to the business overall.