It’s a common refrain that the business sees the legal function as purely a cost centre, with the real value that in-house lawyers provide going largely under the radar.
The latest In-house Consultation Board meeting focused on how to benchmark and broadcast the success of the legal department, using the report of a recent survey of more than 2,000 senior in-house and private practice lawyers by the Thomson Reuters Institute as a jumping-off point (see Blog post, Thomson Reuters Institute 2022 State of Corporate Law Departments report). As well as examining the upward trend in the level of external legal spend reported by corporate law department leaders, the report discussed how the legal department can avoid being a cost centre, and what metrics it can use to demonstrate its value.
In June’s meeting, board members described their approach to shining a light on the legal work being done behind the scenes and quantifying the elusive benefits of averting crises.
