FALL 2019 TODAY’S GENER AL COUNSEL
A Platform-Based Approach to Operational Efficiency By David Carns
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orporate law departments are facing demands to reduce costs and demonstrate digital readiness and innovation. The challenge for GCs and CLOs is formidable, not least because the new focus on operational efficiency represents a major cultural
shift for many law departments. The latest Altman Weil survey of CLOs reveals that they spend, on average, just 18 percent of their time actually managing the law department, even as they note that their CEOs and boards increasingly regard “supporting business objectives” as a vital measure of department performance. Perhaps it’s time for GCs and CLOs to give managing the department higher priority, with the goal of becoming an integral part of the business routinely demonstrating measurable value rather than operating in isolation.