If you can't measure it...

One issue I regularly discuss with our clients is where to start with Legal Transformation. Most companies have started somewhere, which is fantastic, but often it’s is in the wrong place. “We’ve automated our NDA”, “We’ve created a chatbot” – all of which show enthusiasm for transformation, doing things differently in an attempt to achieve scalability in delivery of legal services and a better outcome for the business. Tick. But without measuring the current state and understanding the real dynamics at play, developing Apps or onboarding tech may feel like the right thing to do, because it is action, but will not generally lead to the destination you’re targeting, because … well you don’t have a target. Without a target or transformation plan and without the data relating to what the legal team currently does (at a tedious level), creating a compelling business case for transformation and technology solutions is tough. You’re just not investible from a budget allocation perspective.

Know your route. Deeply understand your starting position, project the return your transformation plan will have on the business you support and don’t create infrastructure in the legal department that doesn’t connect and support business activity.

KPMG In-House Legal Diagnostic delivered through KPMG Legal Cloud

We’ve developed a KPMG In-House Legal Diagnostic that quickly allows legal teams to understand their work activity, lawyer by lawyer, so that they can measure their performance and understand what tasks are done by who and form a view on whether these tasks carry appropriate risk or value to justify the effort and resource allocation. It’s the starting point all legal teams need in order to understand where there are opportunities to create value and where the low hanging fruit is. This data is critical in constructing and sponsoring a credible and investible transformation plan.