Page 33 - CCCA 270450 Magazine_Fall 2017_for web

{ FeatuRe }

“Many people start by trying to solve some of the most diffcult challenges like
implementing knowledge management or contract management. Don’t start with
that. Start with quick successes where you can have savings that are put into tech
and commit to investing... That way the legal work becomes a business enabler.”
connie benTon, chief of sTaff/diRecToR of legal opeRaTions aT neTapp, inc.
& chaiRMan of The boaRd aT cloc.

Trust is the backbone for successful legal ops teams. In order isn’t a mistake. If you do it well, it looks so easy it’s thankless.
to implement changes, organizations need legal ops special- But if it doesn’t go well, you’re blamed for it. It’s challenging
ists who collaborate with others and work in interdisciplinary but also very rewarding.”
teams. Before hiring an ops specialist, general counsel should In order to win support across the organization, start with
consider whether lawyers and staff are ready for change. small initiatives. Brenton suggests going for small changes that
“Lawyers are skeptical and show a high resistance to change,” have a big impact in return on investment. This requires having
says Brenton. “We have people who are flling out spreadsheets metrics and benchmarking to track your success.
to complete contract extraction efforts and they are doing it on “Many people start by trying to solve some of the most dif-
low risk contracts. We can bring in less experienced talent to do fcult challenges like implementing knowledge management
that type of work. To do that, you take that work off someone’s or contract management,” says Brenton. “Don’t start with that.
plate and they have a fear of losing their job. To do this job, you Start with quick successes where you can have savings that are
need to have a clear vision, thick skin and wear multiple hats all put into tech and commit to investing. A high ROI is using elec-
at the same time.” tronic signatures for all contracts across the entire enterprise.
The only way for change to be effective is to have legal op- Something that’s most foundational is e-billing. You can also
erators reporting to senior management. According to the 2017 do automatic NDAs that are self-serve and can be signed on
legal operations survey written by the U.S.-based law frm a plane using e-signature. That way the legal work becomes a
Blickstein Group, 59% of legal department operators report to business enabler.”
directly to general counsel. Legal operations is a nice alternative role to the traditional in-

“If you thrive on change and like a fast-paced environment, you’ll
like this kind of work. There are lots of opportunities for growth
There’s so much to do and there’s always the next challenge.”
Monica gallanT, legal opeRaTions ManageR, shopify

“You need to be in a lead role and be able to multi-task,” says house counsel position. Lawyers looking to make the switch will
Brenton. “You can’t make dramatic or even important basic chang- need to brush up on their fnancial skills, be able to collaborate
es when you don’t have legal ops leaders reporting directly to the across multiple departments and have a keen interest in technology.
GC. The role must be prominent and equal in title to the rest of the “The number one shift in the legal industry is collaboration
GC’s staff because you’re doing change management. They have to and law frms are getting interested,” says Brenton. “There’s a
report to the GC or have gravitas or it won’t work. ” real movement with outside and inside counsel to work togeth-
Technology is a playing a big role in the legal ops feld. As er for more effciencies and what language you speak with each
legal departments look to incorporate alternative fee arrange- one is important. You need to communicate well and listen.
ments, e-billing, and document and contract review, legal op- Tech works in different environments and we don’t want to be a
erations specialists work on implementing new technology into silo when creating solutions.”
organizations. They also bear the responsibility of planning and The best way to get involved is to jump in. Even if you don’t
execution, which is important given the limited time and re- have the budget to hire dedicated staff for legal ops, you can
sources of in-house counsel. create teams to implement different initiatives.
“This job is wide and deep,” says Brenton. “When you’re “I would say go for it,” says Gallant. “If you thrive on change
affecting change, there are people who don’t want to do and like a fast-paced environment, you’ll like this kind of work.
things any differently than they did a decade ago; they don’t There are lots of opportunities for growth. There’s so much to
want to work harder in the short run to make things easier do and there’s always the next challenge.” ❚
in the near term. Moreover, when we do make changes, mis-
takes will be made. There’s never a tech rollout where there
Julie Sobowale is a writer and journalist based in Halifax.

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