Improv Skills for Legal Teams Are Key to Managing Change

Improv skills for legal teams are key to managing change, writes Sheila Grela in an eDiscovery Today post. While preparation remains the backbone of legal work, it is no longer enough. As conditions shift in real time, the ability to respond effectively has become just as critical.

Grela argues that although legal work is structured, it rarely stays on script. Deadlines move, facts evolve, and priorities collide, often rendering even the best preparation incomplete. Legal ops needs to shift its focus to interpreting change and acting decisively.

In this context, improv is not about spontaneity or performance. It is a disciplined adaptability grounded in deep understanding. However, preparation shouldn’t be abandoned. It should be used as a foundation when circumstances demand a different approach. This distinction separates risky reactive decision making from thoughtful, managed adjustment.

Grela positions improv as a collection of durable skills already embedded in legal work. It includes listening, adaptability, responsiveness, and real-time judgment. These capabilities influence individual decisions, broader workflow, communication, and trust across teams. As legal environments grow more complex, these skills become central rather than secondary.

The shift has been amplified by technology and how it has changed legal work. While technology accelerates routine tasks, it also increases the risk of overreliance on incomplete or misaligned outputs. With automation handling predictable work, the remaining work becomes less predictable, requiring legal teams to manage ambiguity. In practice, this means separating urgency from importance, identifying underlying risks, and maintaining clarity in the midst of change.

Grela reminds us that while improv skills for legal teams are key to managing change, preparation is only the starting point. Teams should not only prepare well, but also think, adapt, and communicate when the work invariably changes. They need to ensure that when the path shifts, the direction remains sound.