Global directory Product logins Support & training Contact us Thomson Reuters CORPORATE LAW DEPARTMENTS Legal Department Operations Index shows focus on spending, technology, and management 21 Sep 2021 Share Spending, technology, and department management are the issues that are top of mind for many corporate legal departments, according to a new report Corporate legal departments are keenly focusing on three crucial areas of their operations — spending, technology, and department management — according to the just-released sixth edition of the Thomson Reuters Institute LDO Index. The data for the Index is comprised of real-world legal spend analytics available from Thomson Reuters’ Legal Tracker that’s sourced from more than 1,500 corporate legal departments and a June 2021 Thomson Reuters survey to which 100 legal departments responded. In the survey, a full 82% of legal departments identified themselves as proactive, optimized, or predictive in their approach to managing their legal spend in regard to outside counsel. Departments also showed the use of alternative fee arrangements in some capacity (usually up to 20% of overall legal work) continues at most companies. You can download a copy of Thomson Reuters Institute LDO Index report here. Interestingly, companies were mixed on either increasing or decreasing legal department budgets and overall outside counsel spending, showing that many legal departments and their companies are still were dealing with some of the performance-impacting effects of the global pandemic year of 2020. On the technology question, the survey showed the adoption of critical legal technology is expanding as departments look to enhanced technological solutions and digitalization to improve efficiency and lower department costs. More than half (52%) of the legal departments responding to the survey reported having increased their use of legal technology over the past year. The report also identified nine key legal technologies tools or solutions that more than half of legal departments surveyed said they were utilizing. Impressively, especially given the disruption of the pandemic, this was up from six identified technologies in the 2018 LDO Index report. Not surprisingly, the top trend among legal departments continues to be an increasing volume of legal work, a challenge that has remained consistent throughout all six editions of this report. Perhaps in response to this constant level of work, 80% of departments responding to the survey indicated that they now have staff dedicated to the department’s legal operations function. Finally, one very positive development in this year’s report was legal departments’ overall movement on requiring diversity among their outside legal counsel. This edition of the report marks the first time that a majority of corporate legal departments said they are asking their outside law firms for their diversity information. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email CORPORATE LAW DEPARTMENTSCORPORATE REPORTSLEGAL OPERATIONS Solutions Discover a more efficient way to research Once nearly impossible tasks are made possible with Westlaw Edge. Featured event OCT 27 - 29, 2021 The 20th Annual Law Firm COO & CFO Forum The Thomson Reuters Institute is honored to present the 20th Annual Law Firm COO & CFO Forum in the heart … Event details Related posts 5 questions about companies’ emergency response planning 29 Nov 2021 · 6 minute read Share Forum magazine: 3 decades of change for lawyers and the law 24 Nov 2021 · 6 minute read Share Search ABOUT THOMSON REUTERS About us Annual report Careers Digital accessibility Investor relations Press releases Site map Social impact PRODUCTS & SERVICES All products Core publishing solutions Corporations Government Legal News & media Professional services firms Tax & accounting LEARN MORE API integration Artificial intelligence Innovation @ Thomson Reuters Partnerships Supplier portal The Trust Principles Thomson Reuters Institute CONTACTS Contact us Global sites directory Investors Media relations Office locations Sales & account inquiries CONNECT WITH US Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Thomson Reuters Cookie policy Cookies Settings Terms of use Privacy statement Copyright Supply chain transparency For CA: Do not sell my personal information Our Privacy Statement and Cookie Policy All Thomson Reuters websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser. Privacy Statement Cookie Policy Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies