Legal departments face rising tide of challenges in their transformation efforts, EY Law and Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession survey finds - Seite 3

A further critical challenge cited revolves around how law departments can act as enablers to the business. Little more than half (52%) of General Counsel believe their day-to-day work is aligned with the broader business strategy, and 57% of business development leaders note that inefficiencies in the contracting process have slowed revenue recognition. As law departments look to new and existing solutions, the survey also finds that there is a real appetite for co-sourcing strategies using alternative legal service providers, with 85% of General Counsel saying their department uses these services – up from 72% in 2019.

Kate Barton, EY Global Vice Chair – Tax, says:

"Legal departments face a hugely challenging and uncertain operating environment as businesses remain hyper-focused on revenue growth, with the faster pace of digital and regulatory change all adding to overall fiscal pressures. All the while, workloads are growing exponentially, and budgets continue to face increased scrutiny. If legal departments are to remain effective in our increasingly global, complex and interconnected regulatory environment, they must act fast to transform their legal operations and invest in the right technology. Only then will they be able to keep pace with a fast-growing list of regulatory, cyber and operational risks confronting organizations today."

Cornelius Grossmann, EY Global Law Co-Leader, says:

"As the world starts to move toward economic recovery, enabling growth will be a crucial priority for organizations all over the world. If organizations are to thrive and businesses are to remain compliant, law, procurement and commercial contracting departments will need to ensure they are ready to face an ever-growing list of regulatory risks. Finding the right balance of strategies between insourcing, co-sourcing, data and technology, and centers of excellence, among many others, is critical. Business leaders must elevate transformation of their legal departments if they are to operate efficiently, be competitive, and retain talent."

David B. Wilkins, Lester Kissel Professor of Law, Vice Dean for Global Initiatives on the Legal Profession, and Faculty Director of the Center on the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School, says:

"As companies look toward a post-COVID-19 economic recovery, identifying and managing complex risks at the intersection of law, business, strategy, human resources, and sustainability will be more important than ever. To help business leaders drive growth in this next normal, General Counsels will have to accelerate the transformation process already underway in the legal department, leveraging greater use of data and technology solutions, and a more effective and efficient use of the full range of external providers. This process will not be easy and will require business leaders to invest more resources initially. But this up-front investment is critical if General Counsels are to develop the tools they need to evaluate the cost and quality of the full range of resources, and to deploy them effectively to reduce risk and drive growth."