Metrics that Matter for Your Organization

Being a legal professional isn’t just about knowing the law—it’s about being a strategic partner who drives value across the entire organization. Gone are the days when the legal team operated in a vacuum, disconnected from broader business objectives. Now, modern legal teams use metrics to become better business partners, aligning efforts with business goals and driving impactful results. Legal professionals are evolving into key players in their organizations, contributing to efficiency, cost savings, risk management, and deal acceleration. This transformation hinges on understanding and leveraging legal metrics.

What are legal metrics? 

Legal metrics are quantifiable measures that track the performance and impact of the legal function within an organization. They help legal teams demonstrate their value and align their activities with business objectives.

Metrics provide a clear picture of what's working and what's not. They offer insights that can guide decision-making, help prioritize tasks, and illustrate the legal department’s contributions to the company's goals. 

To be a true business partner, it’s crucial to align your legal metrics with the broader objectives of your organization. This alignment ensures that your efforts are not only noticed but also valued.

Understanding business goals 

Start by understanding the key goals of your organization. Are they focused on revenue growth, cost reduction, risk mitigation, or innovation? Once you have a clear understanding, you can align your legal metrics to support these goals.

Develop metrics that are relevant to the business. For instance, if the goal is revenue growth, you might track metrics related to contract turnaround times, which directly impact sales cycles and revenue realization.

Metrics across different teams 

Different teams within an organization have different priorities and metrics. Understanding these can help you tailor your legal metrics to better support them.

Marketing metrics 

Marketing teams often focus on metrics like lead generation, conversion rates, and brand awareness. Legal can support these efforts by ensuring compliance with advertising laws, reducing risks from promotional activities, and accelerating approval processes for marketing campaigns.

Sales metrics 

Sales teams track metrics such as deal closures, sales pipeline velocity, and customer acquisition costs. Legal can expedite the contract review process, provide clear guidelines for negotiations, and reduce bottlenecks, thus helping the sales team close deals faster.

Implementation metrics 

Implementation teams focus on project delivery times, client satisfaction, and deployment efficiency. Legal can assist by ensuring contracts clearly outline deliverables, reducing disputes, and providing guidance on compliance requirements, which can lead to smoother implementations.

Asking the right questions 

To develop effective legal metrics, asking the right questions is essential. This process involves understanding what information will most benefit your team and the organization.

What are the business pain points? 

Identify the primary pain points that the business faces. Is it long contract cycles, high litigation costs, or compliance issues? Understanding these problems will help you craft metrics that address them directly.

What data do we need? 

Determine what data you need to measure and track these metrics. This might include contract turnaround times, the number of legal issues resolved, or compliance audit results.

How can legal contribute? 

Think about how the legal team can contribute to solving these issues. For example, if the problem is long contract cycles, the legal team could focus on reducing review times and standardizing contract templates.

Tracking key metrics 

Focus on tracking key metrics that have the most significant impact on the business. These might include contract cycle times, legal spending, and risk mitigation measures.

The power of collaboration 

Collaboration between legal and other teams is essential for maximizing the impact of legal metrics. By working together, you can drive efficiency, reduce risks, and achieve business goals.

Building strong relationships 

Develop strong relationships with other teams by understanding their goals and challenges. Regular communication and collaboration will help you identify opportunities to support each other and align your efforts with the organization’s objectives. 

Share your insights and metrics with other teams to demonstrate the value of the legal function. This transparency builds trust and helps other teams understand how legal contributes to the business.

Collaborate on joint initiatives that align with business goals. For example, work with the sales team to streamline the contract process or partner with marketing to ensure compliance with advertising regulations.

Turning metrics into action 

Once you have developed and aligned your legal metrics, it’s time to turn them into actionable insights that drive business success.

Regularly review your metrics to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with business objectives. Make adjustments as needed to address changing priorities or new challenges.

Data-driven decisions 

Use your metrics to make data-driven decisions that improve efficiency, reduce risks, and support business goals. For example, if you notice a spike in contract turnaround times, investigate the cause and implement changes to address it.

Are you ready to get actionable insight and become a better business partner? Check out Analyze.