Many in-house legal teams are finding that ‘doing more with less’ is becoming even more of a reality, as they look to maximise their productivity with existing resources. Workloads are increasing in volume and complexity, compounded by the use of multiple platforms causing workflow inefficiencies and a disconnect between the legal team and the business.

The 2022 In-house Legal Technology Report (the Report), which surveyed 500 in-house lawyers and legal operations professionals, revealed that:

• 90 percent of legal teams use three or more software vendors, yet their biggest pain points are inefficiencies due to using multiple platforms and integrations between platforms;
• 77 percent of in-house legal teams spend over one hour per day jumping between various systems in order to gain a complete view of their work;
• 92 percent of all respondents believe that time spent on manual daily activities takes time and effort away from working on larger business goals or affects their ability to deliver services in a timely manner;
• having a full-suite solution is the most important aspect of a workplace tool, removing the potential for any inefficiencies due to multiple platforms within a business; and
• the majority of US and UK respondents in the survey would migrate to a consolidated platform if given the opportunity.

These factors lead in-house legal teams on a search for two things — a new, more connected way of working and the legal technology to support it. The way to achieve more connection to work, team, the business and business outcomes is to empower in-house legal teams to optimise productivity, optimise engagement, be proactive and have a greater impact on the business through the use of the Connected Legal framework.

“Having the right legal technology software is a core part of a different legal function — one that is proactive, better manages workflows and increases the impact of the legal function,” says Katie Bhreatnach, GM Customer and Regulatory Partnerships, Airways New Zealand.

Building a Connected Legal Function with a legal workspace

As the Report identifies, having the right tools in place plays a large part in not just efficiencies but also the legal team’s ability to influence business outcomes and objectives. 

A legal workspace is designed specifically to optimise productivity and give time back; optimise engagement with the wider business; and to enable legal teams to be more proactive, maximising their impact on business outcomes.

Some key benefits of a legal workspace include:

1. A single consolidated system of record for ultimate time savings, visibility, and control.
2. A well-designed self-service and intake system assists engagement with the business, and gives back time previously spent on back and forth with the business or tackling routine repetitive tasks. It will also capture structured data without attorney disruption.
3. Integrations with much-loved enterprise tools to enable alignment with the way your business works and to improve collaboration, while still allowing in-house legal to benefit from their own purpose-built software. Connecting to the business with their favourite integrations, such as Outlook, Gmail, Slack and Teams, means they are comfortable and efficient in their work with the legal team.
4. Data that enables the legal team to drive outcomes in the business, and provide insights to leverage a more proactive approach and demonstrate the team’s impact on the business. 

Ultimately, a legal workspace provides a centralised work management system of matters, knowledge, documents, collaboration, tasks, and projects. It also provides contract management, e-billing, and outside counsel management, intake and self-service, and reports and insights.

Using a legal workspace provides a more Connected Legal Function, both within the team and across the wider business.

Learn more about working in a legal workspace

Many in-house legal teams are already working in a more connected way within a legal workspace, and enjoying the benefits both to their team and the wider business. 

““Having an end-to-end solution was certainly a part of the decision to go with LawVu.”

— Rosanna Biggs, General Counsel, Linktree.

To learn more about how LawVu helps your legal team become a more Connected Legal Function, discover LawVu’s legal workspace