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Driving operational excellence for in-house legal functions

Legal optimisation consulting

In-house legal teams face a more complex landscape than ever before with continued pressure to do more with less, embrace AI and broader digital transformation, and provide an elevated level of client service. Our Legal Optimisation Consulting practice, also known as “Optimise”, consists of dedicated specialists focused on providing solutions to in-house legal functions so they can achieve operational excellence, better serve their internal clients and navigate the challenges of the ever-evolving legal landscape.

Optimising your in-house legal function across the five pillars of the Target Operating Model

Optimise helps clients, across all industries by providing a methodical approach to legal operations based on Optimise’s Target Operating Model. The Target Operating Model has five key pillars: Strategy and governance, People and culture, Sourcing and delivery, Process and operations, Technology and data, which all work together to execute the objectives of the in-house legal function.

Strategy and governance Navigation Show below Hide below

Some non-exhaustive considerations include:

  • How clear is the function strategy and how does AI impact it to enable your ambition and objectives ?
  • Is the effectiveness of the strategy measured?
  • Is the value of the function understood by the organisation and how can AI help you deliver more?
  • Do you have appropriate governance frameworks, including for the ethical and compliant use of AI?
  • What controls exist to manage risks and monitor compliance?

People and culture Navigation Show below Hide below

Some non-exhaustive considerations include:

  • Do you have an empowered, high-performance function? Is there a supportive and growth mindset culture?
  • Are career progression pathways clear? How will AI impact that?
  • Are your competency framework and role descriptions accurate? Do they include suitable legal and technical AI components?
  • Is the training and support provided to your lawyers as part of their continuous professional development appropriate?
  • Do you adequately manage change and culture in your function? How might that evolve as your operating model shifts with the impact of AI?

Sourcing and delivery Navigation Show below Hide below

Some non-exhaustive considerations include:

  • Is the function the right size, with the right capability and levels of experience, to meet client demand? How will AI reshape that resourcing model – including the mix of lawyers, technical specialists, and operations professionals you need to deliver legal services?
  • Which types of legal work are best suited for your function vs. external counsel vs. self-service? How might this affect your overall delivery model and outsourcing strategy?
  • Is the business satisfied with the services provided by the function?

Process and operations Navigation Show below Hide below

Some non-exhaustive considerations include:

  • Do you have appropriately documented processes?
  • Are they sufficiently standardised to enable AI, and do you have a view on which processes stand to most benefit?
  • Are there effective self-service and knowledge management assets available? Are they suitable to be leveraged by AI tools?
  • Are there continuous improvement initiatives?
  • What quality control mechanisms do you need to implement?

Technology and data Navigation Show below Hide below

Some non-exhaustive considerations include:

  • Is there a function technology and data strategy?
  • Do you have the right technology and support across the business to realise that strategy?
  • What are your proposed AI use cases? Do you have access to quality legal data across systems to leverage for those use cases?
  • Is data being used to make more informed decisions? How will you measure and monitor AI’s impact on your legal work, including efficiency and service delivery?

How we can help

Optimise assists clients across three primary areas: Current State Assessment, Opportunity Realisation, Technology Selection & Implementation. While some clients approach Optimise with a specific aim in mind, e.g. a desire to use more AI based tools, Current State Assessments are often vital for functions to set their baseline to validate and quantify potential opportunities for implementation.

  • Current State Assessments
  • Opportunity Realisation
  • Technology Selection and Implementation
Current State Assessments

Understand your current state to set your baseline and validate potential opportunities for optimisation:

  • Analysis of your current operations compared to the Target Operating Model
  • Breakdown of your team's effort on core legal and operational activities
  • Analysis of the work profile undertaken by your team in terms of risk, complexity, value and alignment to your objectives
  • Process mapping (as is) for value and bottlenecks
  • Review of your current legal technology stack and its fitness for purpose
  • Technology use case identification (including AI)
  • Capability and capacity assessment and gap analysis

Opportunity Realisation

Unlock potential efficiencies and drive improvements through targeted opportunity realisation initiatives:

  • Process mapping (to be) and redesigning workflows for greater efficiency
  • Service catalogue and prioritisation frameworks for the work of the legal team
  • Function strategy KPIs and data sources
  • Function design and competency frameworks
  • Standard operating procedures

Technology Selection and Implementation

Navigate the technology landscape to find, evaluate and deploy solutions that meet your unique needs:

  • Prioritised technology requirements
  • Market engagement plan and RFI/RFP design
  • Business case development
  • Market scan and vendor comparison
  • Vendor evaluation framework and down selection
  • Implementation support (including change management)

Case studies

The team has a breadth of prior experience, both at MinterEllison Consulting and in previous roles, providing these services to major international and national organisations, as well as government clients.

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Operational assessment

Conducted a current state assessment for approximately 500 professionals and provided a report and roadmap which enabled the client to optimise resource allocation, enhance adoption of technology and improve data-decision making.

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Diagnostic review

Performed a diagnostic review of eight legal teams with approximately 1,000 FTEs to assess the team's maturity levels, validate their transformational project roadmap, and identify additional focus areas to drive efficiencies.

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Workflow efficiencies

Reviewed a high volume, sensitive claims process to identify and quantify pain points that had been causing delays and inconsistencies, and made recommendations to drive improved cycle times and reduced error rates for the in-house legal function.

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Function design

Designed an in-house legal function strategy, structure, resourcing model and competency framework to better align it with the organisation’s strategic focus areas and business needs, and facilitate a clear and structured approach for the management of the team.

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Service catalogue

Refined an in-house legal team's service catalogue, overhauled its change management practices and developed a workforce operating model to align it to the function’s strategic workforce plan, focusing on recruitment, capability, and culture.

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Technology selection

Developed a prioritised set of functional and non-functional requirements for a matter management system, before facilitating vendor demonstrations and evaluation of providers and supporting the implementation of technology. This improved intake, triage, and workflows, delivering significant operational efficiencies and reducing time spent on prioritisation.

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https://www.minterellison.com/in-house-legal-optimisation

Our thinking and experience

Lead contacts

Our consulting services are provided by the partnerships known as MinterEllison Consulting (ABN 50 017 469 292) and MinterEllison Advisory (ABN 27 632 804 465) which operate through the company, MinterEllison Consulting Pty Limited (ABN 50 077 613 828), all of which are part of the MinterEllison Group. Our consulting services do not constitute legal services nor legal advice and are not provided by Australian legal practitioners acting in that capacity. The laws and regulations which govern the provision of legal services in the relevant jurisdiction do not apply to the provision of non-legal services.

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