Enabling the legal function to embrace digital transformation: Going beyond risk and compliance

Deloitte Legal Management Consulting team has been working closely with in-house Legal teams as they transform their operations. Forward-looking General Counsels (GCs) and their teams are developing or refining their strategies to align with the strategies of their organizations and adapting their operating models as a consequence. A key enabler of this transformation is making better use of advances in technology to maximize efficiency, reduce cost and free lawyers’ time to work more closely with the organization as a trusted business partner.

Our findings:

Technological advancements enabling digital transformation offer new ways of working and open up substantial opportunities for Legal teams to create additional value to the organization. Three themes emerged from the study:

1. Are the Legal teams of today sufficiently prepared for rapid technology adoption to keep pace with a fast-changing world?
2. Are Legal teams harnessing the power of innovative technologies as an enabler to create value?
3. How ready are GCs and their teams to become trusted business advisors that proactively contribute to the company's overall strategy?

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Legal technology

The General Counsel (GC) is changing from a legal expert and risk mitigator to a business enabler. The general consensus amongst GCs and their teams is that technology is going to transform the operation of in-house legal functions.

Legal functions now appreciate the volume of under – or unexploited data under their control, and they understand that valuable insights can only be extracted through the use of technology. Despite this recognition, the pace of adoption has been rather slow.

In the pages of the report, we explore the challenges which are causing this, the most common uses of technology today and suggest considerations to bear in mind when embarking on or progressing with the adoption of new solutions.