2024 Forecast: Top Trends and Priorities for Legal Teams

As an in-house legal professional, you have a lot on your plate heading into 2024. Your team plays a crucial role in every major business decision, while staying on top of emerging regulatory and technological changes. And let’s face it, chances are your team is under-resourced.  

So, how will top-notch legal teams adapt and thrive in this changing landscape? LinkSquares surveyed 387 legal professionals to discover their top priorities, challenges, and focus areas heading into 2024. 

Our 2024 Forecast uncovers the common trends we saw and delves into these issues so you can stay ahead of the curve. Here’s a sneak preview. 

Efficiency is everything. 

Increasing efficiency is a major priority among legal leaders. Legal teams are focused on streamlining processes and accomplishing more despite limited resources. As one senior legal director said, “We have challenges as the business has grown quickly and our processes have not kept up. We need more efficient ways of working.” 

Your in-house team doesn’t have time to waste navigating cross-functional bottlenecks. Strategic processes that empower you to move quickly and easily collaborate with other departments are key. 

When you’re looking to boost efficiency, legal technology is your trusty sidekick. Delegating manual tasks to the right tech frees you up to spend time on more strategic legal work that drives the business forward.   

Crack the contract management code.

Optimizing contract management emerged as another popular theme when legal teams described their top priorities. Legal professionals emphasized the importance of a seamless and consistent contract management workflow. 

Every day, your team navigates complicated roadblocks, ranging from new regulatory changes to difficult negotiations. When the flow from contract creation to review and, ultimately, signature is simple and communicated well, that means fewer headaches for stakeholders. 

A productive legal team is one that’s on the same page – they know where to access the contract data they need, and they feel confident in the process of executing various types of agreements. Instead of getting bogged down with manual tasks, they’re empowered to work quickly and know nothing is falling through the cracks. 

Don’t compromise on compliance.

Of the legal professionals surveyed, 1 in 4 indicated that data privacy and compliance is the topic they’re most interested in learning more about. And it’s no wonder why – the regulatory landscape is constantly evolving, with new data privacy laws being enacted each year. 

Digging into your contracts is a great first step to ensure you’re ready to react when laws change. Regular contract audits can help you keep an eye on your level of risk and identify agreements that need updates to ensure compliance. 

This doesn’t have to mean shuffling through old filing cabinets or searching through your inbox. Your CLM can automate manual activities like managing specific privacy clauses and identifying at-risk contracts. You can maintain a set of data-privacy specific language for new agreements and even rely on AI to extract critical privacy language from signed contracts. 

Keep up with the AI age.

AI surfaced as another hot topic among legal professionals, who are eager to understand the most effective ways to use AI in accelerating and streamlining legal workflows. 

But it doesn’t end there – legal teams are also looking to delve into the potential business risks and ethical issues surrounding AI. With so many emerging AI advancements and applications, it can be hard to cut through media sensationalism. There’s no lack of coverage around AI, but legal teams are still working to understand its long-term impact on their profession. 

Legal professionals who are harnessing AI to accelerate their productivity and make time for more strategic work are emerging ahead of the curve. Staying curious and open-minded about how AI can fit into your processes may save you time, money, and headaches in the long run. 

Check out the full forecast for more insights on the issues that will impact legal in 2024 and beyond.