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2023 ushered in the cutting-edge world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and legal tech specifically tailored for legal departments and corporate counsel. While ChatGPT burst onto the scene in 2022, it paved the way for AI to be implemented in legal tech. The year saw a rise in M&A activity and millions of dollars being allocated towards legal tech and legal AI.
As part of a legal department, you may have noticed that the term “CLM” pops up frequently. With countless software options available, you might be wondering, “do I need a CLM system?”. Did you know that a study by McKinsey found that 60% of legal professionals reported challenges managing high contract volumes!
The way General Counsel and the in-house legal teams function today is changing rapidly. “While the GC was traditionally seen as the enterprise’s lawyer-in-chief, they are now expected to perform a much broader role as a partner to the rest of the organization and a trusted adviser to senior management.”[1] At the same time in the world where clients need everything on the double, battling the expanding set of regulations puts the in-house lawyers under high-pressure not conducive for legal work. Needless to say, in addition, it poses reputational and commercial risks for the organization when Legal is over-stretched.
Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) are legal service businesses that take on legal processes from law firms and organizations, perform them at a lower cost, and often with increased efficiency, flexibility, and speed[1] [2].
Automakers around the world are expanding warranty coverage to increase clientele and remain competitive, but the associated costs and risks are proving to be detrimental. The mechanized makeup of today’s automotive units has resulted in rising manufacturing defects, maintenance issues, and difficulties in identifying the source of defects. The mounting safety requirements and warranty litigation are terminating in highly liable products that exceed their break/fix costs[1]. Historical data has proven that Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) will face increased warranty expenses this year while suppliers may have to contribute a greater per-vehicle percentage to these expenses[2].
The Corporate Legal Department/General Counsel has taken on a bigger role in strategic risk management for the company and is quickly becoming a trusted advisor for the C-suite and the business units in an increasingly connected world where risks propagate across traditional boundaries. The key question they grapple with is how to continue to play that strategic role and keep their seat at the table.
Legal departments keen on transitioning from a traditional to a more modern code should keep these priorities in mind to stay competitive with peers. Installing inventive and effective cost control strategies, channeling technology to drive efficiency, making cybersecurity a priority, shaping sturdy legal operation departments, and collaborating with law firms that proactively show value will help your legal department conquer the increasingly complex legal landscape.
Over the past two years, more companies have obliged the Payment-Card Industry’s (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS), but the country has recorded more security breaches – 1,579 in 2017 alone,[1] which was a 45% increase from the previous year – and more customer data has been compromised than ever before. The natural interpretation of this phenomenon has been that compliance does not equal security[2].
Dashboards don’t just offer you a pretty picture of your legal department’s projects and the way they are being managed. They also provide critical metrics and that elusive business intelligence that could help you achieve operational success. Ask the legal department of a Fortune 500 company that turned the management of its board meetings around with a customized dashboard.
Touted the most important data privacy legislation in 20 years, the GDPR is a mandate that the EU issued to protect the data of its residents. However, since the mandate addresses the export of personal data overseas, it created tremors far beyond the borders of the EU, even bringing American business giants to their knees.