The Next Chapter of Legal Transformation: Beyond Efficiency

The function of a General Counsel has never been easy, but in previous eras most practitioners might have described the role as somewhat straightforward. In a post COVID universe however, what had already become a more challenging landscape has exploded in complexity and continues to be animated by the need to create value efficiently. The successful General Counsel of today face the herculean task of simultaneously needing to understand the business ramifications of legal actions; be a trusted and creative business advisor who curates a multi-disciplined legal function that both creates and preserves value to the organization, while pragmatically and effectively mitigating and controlling risk. Having observed this evolving dynamic from virtually every vantage point, I’m enthused to have joined PwC’s Legal Business Solutions - a team committed to not only solving these challenges, but to accelerate and scale the transformation in legal services that all stakeholders acknowledge is taking place but often struggle to get their hands around in a way that makes sense for each unique organization.

Over the last two decades I’ve had the honor of helping organizations implement and expedite these overhauls from the inside.??

Now, I’m looking forward to being on a team with the depth to promote the modern law practice by driving the evolution of thoughts, behaviors, and actions that unlocks new value across the legal ecosystem at scale regardless of industries and sectors.? I’m also grateful to be with a company that understands the enormity of the broader task.

Corporate legal constituents understand the thematic task for their practice writ large, if only because they’ve heard it ad nauseam: there is an urgent need to embrace AI and technology to reimagine manual tasks, increase efficiency, improve productivity and gain insights for charting strategy.? At the same time, the proportion of legal spending on outside counsel instead of spent in house has declined from 50% in 2018 to 44% this year, according to a recent survey by Gartner, Inc.

This, of course, shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a reflection on BigLaw.? There should and will continue to be high demand for specialized legal services including, most obviously, to provide the essential legal advice they are best positioned to render. There are a myriad of roles that can be played best by law firm attorneys. And yet, the trend to bring operations in house has been real for a long time.?

As professionals focused on the disciplines of legal operations, we have to ask ourselves; which people, platforms and technologies are best positioned to accelerate the revolutionary changes already underway in the delivery of legal services???

These aren’t normal times. Even prior to COVID and with a renewed focus on the future of work, the legal industry was already grappling with regulatory upheaval, the explosion of data and technology, automation demands, geopolitical tumult and the imperative for diversity and inclusion. In all of this, the need for the law departments to rein in costs and prove to be an “integral part of the underlying business function” has become something of a mantra in legal operations circles.?

Some of these phenomena have also led to a crisis of trust which PwC will attack head-on with, among other initiatives, a $300m investment in a Trust Leadership Institute.

Tiresome as these conversations may be - the underlying sentiment is entirely real.?

As an industry we’ve shown this is achievable, now we will achieve it at scale. We will achieve it by enabling technology, engaging with data and empowering the legal ecosystem. We will transform legal - rather than merely provide efficiencies through ad-hoc implementations.

The stakes have never seemed higher, the opportunity more ripe.? When we talk about the need to stand up an automated contract lifecycle management (CLM) system we are referring to the core infrastructure of a business’ lifecycle.? When we discuss leveraging technology and data analytics to enhance oversight and increase visibility into risks - we are trying to avoid business catastrophic events. The challenges in the past year have only heightened the sense of urgency that has existed for a long time for Chief Legal Officers and General Counsel and across legal operations and law departments. COVID has merely accelerated trends and softened obstacles to change that have been developing for at least a decade.

The other core piece in all this was reflected in PwC’s broader announcement of The New Equation; that there is an absolute imperative to blend functions related to cybersecurity, privacy, cloud, M&A and tax consulting, and yes, legal, into a single comprehensive strategy. This couldn’t be more essential. These are not component parts - these are the fabric of a modern global business.? Not coincidentally these are the primary focal points of PwC’s reimagined consulting solutions group - a group which is also prepared to help companies address the ramifications of issues from polarization to social justice to climate change. These are all part of the day to day reality of a corporate client.?

I’ve had the pleasure of transforming Law Departments from within at large corporations, and at one of the largest global law firms. I’m delighted to be continuing this journey with a group and an organization equipped to meet the challenges of the moment and ready to prepare clients for the future.