Why Enterprise Legal Management (ELM) is Important for Legal Ops

The role of the legal department is growing in importance. Expectations for delivery and operational efficiency are increasing along with efforts to control costs and budgets. In addition, legal teams are now required to be proactive about compliance, governance, risk mitigation, and opportunity generation, as Summize wrote in a recent blog.

A single solution can be provided by an enterprise legal management (ELM) system, sometimes referred to as Legal Operations software. It is already popular and likely to become even more common in the future. Citing research from Bryters, Summize writes that with 71% of legal tech budgets will grow by 200% by 2025.

ELM encompasses the processes, strategies, and technological tools utilized to enhance efficiency and streamline workflows. Key components include legal spend management, matter management, contract lifecycle management, and reporting/analytics to inform decision-making: 

• Legal Spend Management Legal spend management involves tracking, analyzing, and reporting on legal costs, enhancing efficiency and cost reduction opportunities.
• Matter Management Matter management streamlines internal legal processes, optimizing service delivery and improving transparency.
• Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Contract lifecycle management digitizes and automates the entire contract lifecycle, mitigating risks and improving efficiency.
• Reporting and Analytics Reporting and analytics enable legal teams to gain insight into their processes and make informed decisions with increased efficiency, mitigated risk, enhanced transparency, and cost savings.

Organizations need to evaluate their processes, use cases, and market to develop their ELM strategy. The focus should be on pain points that can significantly impact the legal department, such as improving efficiency, automating high-volume work, and cost savings. Ultimately, an adaptable ELM solution that aligns with current and future business needs is key to successful digital transformation for Legal Operations.