The Legal Ops Manager’s Guide to the First 90 Days

Whether you've just been appointed as a Legal Operations Manager or you're well-versed in the legal industry, the first 90 days at the helm can be a delicate balancing act. This period is vital for setting the course and building relationships that'll define your tenure. Each day counts. So, how can you navigate these waters with confidence? Here’s your guide.

Getting Ramped Up

Building relationships should be topmost on your agenda. Establishing strong ties across the organization, particularly with the legal team, executive leadership, sales, and IT, lays the groundwork for effective collaboration. Understanding the needs and expectations of these key stakeholders allows you to identify and rectify process gaps, establishing trust and reliability that will serve you well in the long run.

Getting to grips with ongoing processes is also very crucial. If you’re taking over an existing legal ops function, you'll need to review and audit the work that has been done. This task may seem daunting at first, but it's an opportunity to get a lay of the land and identify areas for optimization. Dive in. 

Once you have a clear understanding of the current situation, you can then start crafting your strategic plan. Aligning legal operations processes with the broader company goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) not only increases efficiency but also ensures you’re contributing meaningfully to the company's growth.

Utilizing Technology

Now, let's talk tech. While humans are at the heart of any legal ops function, legal tech like Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) and legal task management can be its lifeblood. A potent technology solution can dramatically enhance efficiency and collaboration, helping you provide top-notch legal service with less manual effort. The ideal legal tech solutions should be cloud-based, capable of easy integration, and data-focused. This ensures a high return on investment (ROI) and low time-to-value (TTV), empowering your department to do more and better, faster.

Remember, the first 90 days aren’t just about survival; they're about setting strong foundations for success. These initial days should be an exploration, an opportunity to identify potential pitfalls and a time to forge a strategic plan.

Improve Process Visibility

For too long, legal teams have depended on internal word of mouth to manage and maintain whatever consistency there is in their processes. Unfortunately, this means that when someone leaves the business, their knowledge leaves with them.

Legal ops can give their teams the gift of visibility by documenting processes and best practices. This helps legal ops improve consistency around internal processes, and it decreases the chances of duplicate work, non-compliance risks, and higher spend from inefficiency.

From New Hire to High Performer

While this blog post provides key insights into the first 90 days as a Legal Operations Manager, there’s more to discover. For a comprehensive guide full of actionable tips and insights to help you hit the ground running, access our full guide now. This guide dives into how to optimize your legal ops function, craft a powerful strategy, and leverage technology for better efficiency. Your journey to becoming a successful Legal Operations Manager starts here.