--- title: Navigating the Recession With a Lean Legal Team description: Today GCs have to work with an even leaner legal team. It won’t be easy, but with these tips on recession planning for legal, it’s doable. image: https://blog.linksquares.com/hubfs/Copy%20of%20General_Thumbnail-Aug-30-2022-07-47-47-29-PM.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.linksquares.com/navigating-the-recession-with-a-lean-legal-team#main-content) [LinkSquares](https://blog.linksquares.com/) Open Mobile Menu [LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/) Close Mobile Menu [Why LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/why-linksquares/) [Products](https://linksquares.com/products/) --- [The LinkSquares Cloud One platform for all your in-house legal needs](https://linksquares.com/products/linksquares-cloud/) --- Contract Lifecycle Management Create, review, manage and sign contracts Legal Project Management Centralize your work and keep projects moving Cross-product capabilities Get scalability, efficiency and connectivity LinkSquares Onboarding Experience A step by step guide to get started today --- [Solutions](https://linksquares.com/solutions/) [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) Resources Content [LinkSquares+ Content curated for in-house leaders](https://linksquares.com/plus/) [The Library](https://linksquares.com/library/) In the studio [Demo Library](https://linksquares.com/demo-library/) Community & Events [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) [Events & Webinars](https://linksquares.com/events/) Learning [Blog](https://blog.linksquares.com/) [In-House Insights](https://linksquares.com/inhouse-insights/) [Knowledge Base](https://help.linksquares.com/) [Events](https://linksquares.com/events/) [About Us](https://linksquares.com/about-us/) [Careers](https://linksquares.com/careers/) [Press](https://blog.linksquares.com/tag/linksquares-news-press) [Pricing](https://linksquares.com/pricing/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Contract Lifecycle Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Finalize Streamline your contract creation process](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/) [Sign Get your contracts executed faster](https://linksquares.com/products/sign/) [Analyze Your post-signature analytics & repository](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/) [CLM Suite One platform to rule them all](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Legal Project Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Prioritize Manage, track, and report on legal work in one place](https://linksquares.com/products/prioritize/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [LinkAI Predictive and generative AI](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/ai/) [Integrations Connect the tools you love](https://linksquares.com/integrations/) [Reporting Improve your teams efficiency with KPIs](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/dashboard/) [API Integrate with any third-party app](https://linksquares.com/integrations/linksquares-api/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Onboarding We're here for you from day one](https://linksquares.com/onboarding-services/) [Services Short on time? 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For everyone. All over the news (and LinkedIn), there are [stories](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2022/07/28/in-fintech-2022-is-becoming-the-year-of-layoffs/?sh=182c189920f3) about companies laying off their staff in droves, some even going as far as to shutter their entire business. The companies that are still standing need to weather the storm by doing more with less. This is especially the case for legal teams. Historically, legal is one of the smallest teams in the entire organization, leaning on just a few in-house professionals to support the entire business.  It is not strange to have a legal team of two in a company of 200.  So now, just like back in 2008, there is another opportunity for strategic innovation from legal departments. More than ever, GCs have to navigate the business landscape with an even leaner legal team. It won’t be easy, but with these tips it’s doable.  # Recession Planning for Legal: How to Do More With Less Constraints often create the most conducive environment for innovation. Here are some ways to maneuver this new reality. ## Cut down contract costs According to the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM), the average [cost of a standard contract is $6,900](https://www.worldcc.com/Resources/Content-Hub/View/ArticleId/9133/The-Cost-of-a-Contract-IACCM-research-report). Even worse, poor contract management can cost [up to 9% of a company’s revenue](https://www.worldcc.com/Resources/Content-Hub/View/ArticleId/9773/Poor-Contract-Management-Continues-To-Costs-Companies-9-Of-Their-Bottom-Line). The review and approval stages – which are notoriously drawn out – can eat up most of the overall costs of executing a contract. Cut down contract costs by optimizing each stage of the contract lifecycle. Streamline the [pre-signature](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/) stages of the contract by using [templates](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/features/templates/) and [pre-approved languag](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/features/clause-library/)e to help contract faster and reduce costs.  [![How to Redline ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6934676/0974835b-fbb9-4a38-958a-9411f5afef58.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6934676/0974835b-fbb9-4a38-958a-9411f5afef58) ## Implement technology Rather than depending on your legal team’s headcount to get things done, make your processes more efficient and implement technology to take care of the rest. Automate manual tasks for standard agreements with innovative tools like CLM. Illustrate the ROI of your tool with [reporting capabilities](https://linksquares.com/solutions/reporting-and-planning/) that show how much time you saved and how much more quickly your contracts traveled through the lifecycle.  ## Invest in Legal Operations [Legal operations](https://go.linksquares.com/transforming-legal-ops) is a function growing in relevance and popularity among legal teams. Essentially, they are responsible for making your legal team more efficient while helping you cut down on costs and save money. Legal ops are good at helping you decide what technology has the [highest ROI](https://go.linksquares.com/forrester-total-economic-impact-report)and how to implement it and have a mature legal function. At a time when resources are scarce, legal operations professionals are good at allocating them appropriately and giving your team some reprieve. ## In Summary Legal teams are no stranger to doing more with less. The entire department and function have innovated significantly over the last few decades when their resources were stripped away. In today’s economy, they are being called on to exercise that skill more. By cutting down contract costs, using technology like CLM, and investing in legal ops, legal teams can navigate this recession expertly and still help protect their business from risk. Learn how LinkSquares can help your legal team do more with less. Request a [demo](https://go.linksquares.com/demo-request) today. ## Subscribe to the LinkSquares Blog Stay up to date on best practices for GCs and legal teams, current events, legal tech, and more. ## Related Articles ### [Alyssa Verzino Aug 19, 2022 7 min read Best Practices for a Legal Team of One: Part 2 Welcome back to the two-part blog series on how to thrive as a legal team of one. It’s a challenging task. Legal can be seen as ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/best-practices-legal-team-of-one-pt-2) ### [Alyssa Verzino Dec 02, 2022 5 min read Revenue Leakage, Runway, and Burn Rate: What In-House Legal Needs to Know Legal teams are used to being scrappy and resourceful – always looking for ways to do more with less. But what happens when the ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/revenue-leakage-runway-and-burn-rate-what-in-house-legal-needs-to-know) ### [Alyssa Verzino Nov 03, 2022 7 min read How to Strengthen Legal Ops at Your Company The role of legal operations is having its well-deserved moment in the spotlight. We’ve written on the blog about legal ops and ... 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It won’t be easy, but with these tips on recession planning for legal, it’s doable.", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "LinkSquares Team" }, "dateModified" : "2022-08-31T13:18:33Z", "datePublished" : "2022-08-31T13:18:33Z", "headline" : "Navigating the Recession With a Lean Legal Team", "image" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/Copy%20of%20General_Thumbnail-Aug-30-2022-07-47-47-29-PM.png", "inLanguage" : "en", "keywords" : "[In-house Best Practices]", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@type" : "WebPage" }, "name" : "Navigating the Recession With a Lean Legal Team", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://6934676.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6934676/Navigation/logo_643dd1b1.svg" }, "name" : "LinkSquares" }, "text" : "Let’s face it: these are hard times. For everyone. All over the news (and LinkedIn), there are stories about companies laying off their staff in droves, some even going as far as to shutter their entire business. The companies that are still standing need to weather the storm by doing more with less. This is especially the case for legal teams. Historically, legal is one of the smallest teams in the entire organization, leaning on just a few in-house professionals to support the entire business. It is not strange to have a legal team of two in a company of 200. So now, just like back in 2008, there is another opportunity for strategic innovation from legal departments. More than ever, GCs have to navigate the business landscape with an even leaner legal team. It won’t be easy, but with these tips it’s doable. Recession Planning for Legal: How to Do More With Less Constraints often create the most conducive environment for innovation. Here are some ways to maneuver this new reality. Cut down contract costs According to the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM), the average cost of a standard contract is $6,900. Even worse, poor contract management can cost up to 9% of a company’s revenue. The review and approval stages – which are notoriously drawn out – can eat up most of the overall costs of executing a contract. Cut down contract costs by optimizing each stage of the contract lifecycle. Streamline the pre-signature stages of the contract by using templates and pre-approved language to help contract faster and reduce costs. Implement technology Rather than depending on your legal team’s headcount to get things done, make your processes more efficient and implement technology to take care of the rest. Automate manual tasks for standard agreements with innovative tools like CLM. Illustrate the ROI of your tool with reporting capabilities that show how much time you saved and how much more quickly your contracts traveled through the lifecycle. Invest in Legal Operations Legal operations is a function growing in relevance and popularity among legal teams. Essentially, they are responsible for making your legal team more efficient while helping you cut down on costs and save money. Legal ops are good at helping you decide what technology has the highest ROI and how to implement it and have a mature legal function. At a time when resources are scarce, legal operations professionals are good at allocating them appropriately and giving your team some reprieve. In Summary Legal teams are no stranger to doing more with less. The entire department and function have innovated significantly over the last few decades when their resources were stripped away. In today’s economy, they are being called on to exercise that skill more. By cutting down contract costs, using technology like CLM, and investing in legal ops, legal teams can navigate this recession expertly and still help protect their business from risk. Learn how LinkSquares can help your legal team do more with less. Request a demo today.", "url" : "https://blog.linksquares.com/navigating-the-recession-with-a-lean-legal-team", "wordCount" : "796" } ```