Legal operations: A new working tool?
by irina wakstein
“That which is not named does not exist”, said the French philosopher and writer George Steiner. The legal sciences have existed for hundreds of years, but during their teaching, work and learning, there are also many other disciplines or specialities that are less widespread and therefore more invisible. Does this happen in the case of legal operations? Is it indispensable today to work with them? Is it a speciality that is here to stay?
“Legal operations have not just arrived, they have been with us for a long time, but not with this nomenclature”, said Secuoya’s global head of legal, Carlos López Martín, during the debate at Iberian Lawyer’s Legaltech Day. It is clear that, over the years, legal departments have made efforts to develop procedures and use tools that provide greater added value to their work, avoiding those that involve additional effort and time, but the results have not always been as expected.
THE ADVANTAGES
“Certainly, with the emergence of the concept of legal operations, we have a great opportunity to develop global projects that support the processes associated with the technological tools within this speciality and do not just remain isolated and uncoordinated efforts”, says López Martín.
Such is the case of Ámbar Partners which, last September, announced the creation of an area specialising in legal operations. “It is essential that the business knows and understands the value of having a legal department and that is our biggest challenge”, says Manuel Deó, CEO of Ámbar Partners. “It is necessary to generate tools to evaluate improvements, where KPIs are measured and where it is possible to demonstrate in numbers those issues that require optimisation”, adds Deó.
The truth is that, by having a department specialised in legal operations, it is possible to carry out strategic planning that allows the financial and process management of each company to be adapted. It even allows legal professionals to focus their activity on providing legal advice exclusively, bringing great competitive advantages to the sector.
