Experts on ACC’s Legal Operations Maturity Model and Legal Tech

LawVu’s Ashley Bass writes that while many legal teams are turning to technology to meet the demands of increasing complexity, they often struggle with where to start and how to ensure adoption. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Legal Operations Maturity Model (LOMM) offers legal departments a structured approach to address these goals. 

The ACC’s LOMM framework helps legal departments gauge performance across 14 functions by measuring progress in three stages: early, intermediate, and advanced. In a recent webinar hosted by LawVu, panelists Patrick Boucher of IMT Insurance, Liz Rancourt-Smith of Tilson, and Neil Smith of LawVu discussed how the model’s technology management track can help legal teams prioritize investments and drive lasting value.

Central to their advice was the importance of starting with the process rather than the products. By mapping workflows, framing requirements around problems rather than features, and protecting what already works, legal ops professionals can avoid missteps and ensure that technology solutions align with real needs. Building a flexible technology roadmap emerged as a key theme, with panelists emphasizing the value of pre-planning, trend awareness, and early visioning to prevent reactive decision-making.

The discussion also highlighted the limitations of spreadsheets, which often become burdensome as legal operations scale. Purpose-built technology, by contrast, offers centralized systems, better insights, and stronger stakeholder engagement. Adoption and maintenance were identified as equally critical, with panelists underscoring the importance of leadership, training, and continuous feedback to achieve return on investment. As Rancourt-Smith noted, “You can’t set it and forget it. You need leadership and someone who continually evaluates processes, monitors the data, and provides continuous training.” 

Perhaps most importantly, panelists urged teams to align legal technology with broader business goals. While business alignment is emphasized in the advanced stage of the ACC model, it is a vital consideration at every level of maturity. For legal ops professionals seeking to unlock greater value, ACC’s Legal Operations Maturity Model provides both a framework and roadmap for smarter technology adoption.