\n<\/p>\n
When you were younger, what was your answer to the old-age question, \u201cWhat do you want to be when you grow up?\u201d If you knew from the start that you wanted to go into the legal profession, chances are you dreamed of being a lawyer \u2013 or, more likely, a specific fictional courtroom lawyer like Atticus Finch or Elle Woods (I object!<\/em>). Because even a young, creative mind couldn\u2019t possibly think up all the roles, responsibilities and jobs available across the legal profession today, especially when such roles were never front and center on Law & Order<\/em> or How to Get Away With Murder<\/em>.<\/p>\n And if you answered \u201castronaut\u201d or \u201cfirefighter\u201d as a kid but went on to become one of the many different types of legal professionals leading the charge on legal\u2019s transformation, congratulations! I hope you see yourself in the land of opportunity and aren\u2019t feeling too sad that you don\u2019t get to carry a large hose up and down a ladder all day long.<\/p>\n The fact is, there\u2019s so much career diversity in today\u2019s legal and contract management fields \u2013 along with opportunities for learning, growth and advancement \u2013 compared to even just a few short years ago. It\u2019s a great time for business-minded individuals and rising generations to consider everything this career has to offer, even if you don\u2019t have the opportunity to yell \u201cI object!\u201d in a crowded courtroom (although, if you can work in \u201cI object\u201d somewhere at work, good for you). And as the job itself continues to change and evolve, technology is playing a critical role in priming professionals for success not only in the legal department but also across the rest of the organization.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a perfect example of someone who dreamed of a career in one industry, only to find myself in the legal field. Before I landed my current role as general counsel at Agiloft, I was pursuing a career in archaeology. I was even enrolled in a doctorate program, chasing my dream of becoming a professor, before I pivoted. I even said I would never be a lawyer. But because I\u2019ve always been drawn to fields that allow me to explore and solve problems, I veered off my original path and onto one where I am truly driving innovation \u2013 and getting to have a lot of fun doing it.<\/p>\n The thing is, there\u2019s an endless buffet of things you can do and achieve in this industry. Believe it or not, cross-functional problem-solving is fun <\/em>(if you\u2019re like me!), <\/em>because if you hold the keys to the immense amount of data and information in contracts and other legal documents, you hold critical business knowledge in your hands, which can help you make the connections across the organization to find nonobvious solutions to real problems. So, when looking broadly across the legal function and at the information I hold, I think about how my team\u2019s work can accelerate the work of the entire business.\u00a0There\u2019s so much value in that, and so much satisfaction in being able to see how your impact ripples out across the organization.<\/p>\n If my unconventional career path has taught me anything, it\u2019s that this role really does have longevity,<\/em> and that\u2019s a major plus. Historically, the legal field has been a late bloomer when it comes to digital transformation, which makes sense if you\u2019ve ever had to do an all-nighter looking through banker boxes to find \u201cthe\u201d contract or \u201cthe\u201d document. The task of transformation can be very daunting when you know how much data there is to transform. But we\u2019re (fortunately) seeing this evolve, as artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and the like continue to improve and demonstrate their ability to accelerate the revolution. In today\u2019s legal sphere, if you\u2019re not leveraging the transformative power of technology, you\u2019ll fall behind. It\u2019s as simple as that. Now is the time to harness these tools and use them to your advantage \u2013 for your team, your organization and your career.<\/p>\n In this article, we\u2019ll explore how the role of the general counsel (GC) or chief legal officer (CLO) is transforming, how technology comes into play, and ultimately, what impact it all has on career advancement.<\/p>\n The Evolving Legal Landscape: New Tech-Driven Specialties<\/strong><\/p>\n When we think about the different prongs of the legal industry, it\u2019s clear that technology can have a major impact on a variety of areas. For example, contract management can be streamlined with AI-driven tools that automate contract drafting, reviews and compliance checks, significantly reducing administrative workload. Legal research also benefits from tech innovations that speed up processes, offering more accurate findings and results in less time. The list goes on and on in terms of ways tech is transforming the industry. Even using generative AI solutions for things like creating drafts of job descriptions or helping you to achieve the right tone in an email is a nice and easy assist in what used to be a time-intensive process (just how many exclamation points do I need in this email to make me sound friendlier?).<\/p>\n CLOs can truly benefit from this ongoing innovation. CLOs have the responsibility of overseeing the entire legal department and aligning it with the organization\u2019s broader business goals. By implementing the right tech, CLOs can streamline operations, manage legal risks more effectively, and ensure that the legal team is as efficient and proactive as possible. Plus, with technology handling the time-consuming, repetitive tasks, CLOs can focus on strategy, provide more valuable insights to leadership, and drive overall business success. For lean legal teams managing high-volume workloads, these tools can help individuals get their work done more efficiently, which can free up more time to think or recharge. This leads to improved morale and focus, while decreasing the risk of burnout.<\/p>\n The \u201cTraditional\u201d Role of Legal<\/strong><\/p>\n The role of the GC or CLO has historically been centered around managing a company\u2019s legal risks and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. The legal department is of course responsible for overseeing all legal matters within the organization (everything from litigation and contract management to compliance and risk management). And the CLO is responsible for advising the senior leadership team, often as an executive themselves, about the legal implications of business decisions, as well as leading or overseeing any disputes that the company may face. Additionally, legal professionals often manage relationships with external law firms and legal advisors, ensuring that the company gets appropriate legal representation while managing its costs.<\/p>\n Beyond these core responsibilities, the CLO often takes on the role of legal \u201cgatekeeper,\u201d ensuring that a company\u2019s operations adhere to legal standards while protecting its best interests. Until very recently, the general perception of the role was that it was focused on preventing legal problems from arising, rather than proactively driving business strategies. And as you can imagine, in that scenario, the legal function might be seen as separate and siloed from the general business operations, with the CLO playing a reactive role rather than being actively involved in shaping or influencing the company\u2019s broader goals or strategies in a way that drives growth and mitigates risk.<\/p>\n If I may be so bold as to say, a siloed legal function and a legal leader who is seen as separate from the business is a wasted opportunity for the organization \u2013 and a far less exciting path.<\/p>\n Today, the CLO role is sitting at an important \u2013 and far more valuable \u2013 juncture, broadening to include strategic business decision-making in real time. And as companies face a more complex and fast-changing environment, the CLO is a key player in driving overall organizational success.<\/p>\n Legal Ops and Business: Driving Efficiency, Compliance and Growth<\/strong><\/p>\n Legal operations (legal ops) is becoming an increasingly pivotal part of an organization\u2019s broader strategic framework. That said, it comes with its own set of unique challenges. Legal ops professionals are tasked with things like managing complex workflows and optimizing resource allocations, all in the name of enhancing efficiency across legal teams and the adjacent functions they support.<\/p>\n But as these roles evolve, legal teams are expected to shift from traditional responsibilities to more comprehensive, data-driven ones. No longer merely advisors, legal teams must embrace a mindset that values analytics, process optimization and agility to meet the fast-paced demands of modern business. They have to adapt to new technologies, break down internal silos, and align their department with overarching company goals faster and better than before.<\/p>\n Amid this season of transformation for legal ops teams and CLOs themselves, contract lifecycle management (CLM) software \u2013 which streamlines and automates the entire contract process, from drafting to execution and renewal \u2013 has emerged as a critical tool for legal teams and legal ops professionals tasked with analytics, optimization and meeting the demands of the rest of the business. CLM solutions enable legal teams to manage vast volumes of contracts efficiently, while ensuring compliance, reducing risks and improving speed to market.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, contracts are proving to be so much more than simple agreements \u2013 they contain a goldmine of data that can help organizations plan, operate and perform better. And when CLM tools are used correctly, CLOs are uniquely positioned to distill this information in a way that can directly impact the bottom line.<\/p>\n For the CLO, this presents an opportunity to drive true organizational change by fostering collaborations between legal, procurement and other critical business units. By embracing tools like CLM and encouraging a culture of data-driven decision-making, the CLO can not only optimize the legal department\u2019s operations but also contribute to the company\u2019s overall success. It can help legal teams better track and analyze their own processes and create scalable ways to demonstrate how they are supporting the organization and identifying areas for proactive improvement. This multifaceted role offers the chance to redefine the value of the legal function, positioning it as a strategic, value-generating part of the business.<\/p>\n No Longer the \u201cDepartment of No\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I strongly believe that the \u201cdepartment of no\u201d stereotype is not only outdated but also harmful. From the very beginning of my in-house career, I was taught to focus on being risk-optimized \u2013 finding ways to accelerate the business while addressing risk effectively. The idea that legal departments are there to slow things down is often a misconception. The reality is that at a lot of companies, legal is a true business accelerator, not a bottleneck. When people fall back on this negative label, it creates a reputation that doesn\u2019t reflect the true value of most legal teams, and it can ultimately hinder collaboration and progress and create friction between legal and the functions it supports.<\/p>\n To build a successful legal department and show that it is a business enablement function, it\u2019s essential to hire professionals who bring a broader perspective \u2013 those who are problem solvers, open to new technologies and capable of understanding the wider business context. Just as in any other department, the effectiveness of the legal function depends on the quality of the people within it. When I\u2019m hiring, I prioritize good judgment over mere attention to detail. I want someone who knows when the details matter and when they don\u2019t. The second most important trait? A sense of humility and adaptability. Legal professionals must be able to detach from outdated practices and embrace change. In-house roles today are vastly different than what they were a decade ago, and they\u2019ll continue to evolve in the future.<\/p>\n You can be in this field and<\/em> be an accelerator of business. It\u2019s a mindset thing.<\/p>\n Tech-Driven Legal: Transforming In-House Counsel for the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n Technology, especially generative AI, is playing a pivotal role in reshaping the way in-house legal teams operate. By automating mundane, repetitive tasks such as document review, compliance checks and contract drafting, AI and automation tools are freeing up legal professionals\u2019 bandwidth and brainpower, allowing them to focus on more high-level, strategic activities. Meanwhile, tools like CLM systems, predictive analytics and AI-powered legal research are allowing legal teams to make faster, more informed decisions, driving business growth.<\/p>\n Moreover, legal tech is creating a more collaborative environment between legal teams and other departments. This type of synergy across previously siloed departments is providing organizations with a powerful combination of increased efficiency and deeper insights into the business landscape, positioning legal teams as a driving force for growth.<\/p>\n Beyond the Lawyers: Essential Roles in In-House Legal Teams<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at some of the essential in-house legal roles, their responsibilities and how they help the larger organization.<\/p>\n Each of these roles plays a key part in the modern legal department, and these are the common threads they share: contracts, the details within them, and the impact that contract data can have on the broader organization beyond the confines of the legal department. Using the (typically untapped) potential of the data gleaned from contract information, those who work closely with these documents can put more strategic thought into not only the impact this information has on their company but also how perfecting the analysis and strategic use of contract details can affect their individual career journey.<\/p>\n Again, there\u2019s longevity in these roles.\u00a0You can share the burden of power by unlocking the library of information within contract data and leading the adoption of legal technology and generative AI tools. The truth of the matter is that you must adapt! It\u2019s part of the job now. You don\u2019t have to be an expert, but you do need to hire experts, delegate effectively and identify talent to make it work.<\/p>\n CLM as a Career Catalyst: Advancing in the Legal Industry<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the key challenges in contract management is the sheer volume of data. I like to call it the \u201cunlocked library of information.\u201d For a long time, contracts were just sitting in a repository, packed with all sorts of valuable info \u2013 like renewal dates, notice periods and deeper relationship details, especially in more complex agreements. But these contracts lived in an obscure, inaccessible repository, making it hard to search for what you really needed. Therefore, individual lawyers ended up becoming the sole keepers of that knowledge. They\u2019d even build their own little mini repositories on their desktops, which meant that they were the only ones who really understood the relationships and the details within those contracts. It\u2019s a bit like the chaos of a complicated spreadsheet where only one person knows how it works \u2013 if they leave, you\u2019re stuck.<\/p>\n This is where CLM comes in. It helps remove that \u201chuman glue\u201d \u2013 people who are the only ones with that knowledge. Here, legal teams are presented with more opportunities for growth, as CLM tools allow them to drive strategic change within the organization,\u00a0demonstrating leadership and decision-making skills that can advance their careers.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the automation of manual, time-consuming tasks that contributes to professional development. Because the software handles routine tasks, professionals can redirect their focus toward more strategic activities, like analyzing data and identifying areas for improvement or innovation. (That said, the need for in-the-loop humans remains critical \u2013 more on that later!) With tools like Agiloft\u2019s no-code interface, users can create and manage custom workflows, rules and AI-driven contract processes without needing specialized programming knowledge. This empowers legal, procurement, sales and the like to take ownership of their processes, further expanding their skill sets.<\/p>\n For example, a contract manager may evolve from focusing solely on contract reviews to taking a more strategic role, analyzing trends and recommending operational changes based on contract performance data. Thanks to the power of technology, legal professionals are better equipped to take on higher-level roles with broader organizational impact \u2013 no matter where they currently sit within the hierarchy of the legal team. The result is a win-win: more efficient business processes and more advanced career trajectories for employees who leverage these tools effectively. The Human Element Remains Indispensable<\/strong><\/p>\n Obviously, this article is pro-technology and pro-automation, but let\u2019s make one thing clear: The human element remains indispensable. While tools like CLM software and AI are transforming how legal teams operate, it is the professionals behind these technologies who ensure their effectiveness. The integration of technology should enhance, not replace, human decision-making and expertise.<\/p>\n The senses and experiences of a human combined with the insane computational power of AI is the sweet spot that all legal teams should be striving for. Professionals can leverage AI to a point where it is more collaborative and creative, if they make an investment in thoroughly engaging with it.<\/p>\n A high-performing legal team should be composed of skilled professionals equipped with the right tools and empowered to deliver exceptional results. It\u2019s all about having skilled individuals who understand the impact of today\u2019s modern tools and are motivated to use them to their full potential. By doing so, professionals can produce a level of judgment, creativity and critical thinking that technology alone cannot replicate. Not to mention, all of this furthers the organization\u2019s investment in employee development, fostering a positive work culture and promoting the kind of work-life balance that is essential to attracting and retaining top talent.<\/p>\n Leveraging Legal Tech for Career Growth and Impact<\/strong><\/p>\n As a legal professional, by asking yourself how these tools can improve your team\u2019s work experience to create more time for the things that truly fuel us, you\u2019re not only investing in an upward career trajectory for your team but also prioritizing a healthier work-life balance. When I think about the kind of life I want, it\u2019s all about having more time for the things that truly matter \u2013 like being with family, doing work that excites me, taking vacations and spending more time on things that inspire me. And when I look at legal tech, it\u2019s not just about how it benefits my company \u2013 it\u2019s about how it helps my team make more time for those things that matter most. When we have time to recharge, we\u2019re more creative, energized and better at solving problems. That\u2019s why I\u2019m such a believer in legal technology: It can really help give people back the time they need to feel their best.<\/p>\n When our tanks are full, we are better equipped for problem-solving and creative thinking \u2013 ergo, professionals can make time to think strategically about how they can directly impact the business and accelerate their own careers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you were younger, what was your answer to the old-age question, \u201cWhat do you want to be when you grow up?\u201d If you knew from the start that you wanted to go into the legal profession, chances are you dreamed of being a lawyer \u2013 or, more likely, a specific fictional courtroom lawyer like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":228196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[907,7490,6036,1434,26588,2253],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-228195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal","tag-business","tag-landscape","tag-legal","tag-modern","tag-ops","tag-transforming"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n