Why Tracking Key Process Metrics Is Important for Legal Ops

The only thing you can count on with legal teams is change. That means you will need to track process metrics. Process metrics, also called key performance indicators (KPIs), allow Legal Ops to have insights into the legal department’s performance. They are crucial for maximizing the productivity of your Legal Ops team while minimizing costs, according to a blog post by Exigent.

There are three basic categories of metrics that need to be monitored to optimize your legal processes — people, processes, and technology. These are some of the metrics that will help identify your strengths and indicate where you can improve.

• Knowledge management effectiveness metrics measure the accessibility of knowledge, as well as the value and accuracy of knowledge resources.
• Contract lifecycle management metrics monitor each contract stage, iron out delays to streamline the process, and identify any bottlenecks.
• The cost-to-spend ratio helps you to calculate all legal fees, court costs, and internal expenses, and compare your spend to the department budget and revenue.
• Legal team productivity aids in assessing your department’s efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and resource allocation.
• Legal technology utilization ensures you’re maximizing your technological investments. It tracks the productivity and output of your technology, such as how fast it can process items or perform tasks like e-discovery.
• Compliance monitoring tracks metrics related to compliance, helps avoid fees or legal problems, and reveals areas for improvement.

As the legal world continues to undergo change, you will need to track process metrics to maximize your department’s performance, optimize your budget, time and resources, and take your legal operations team to the next level.