Corporate Legal News Updates for Corporate Counsel (March 2022 Edition)

Welcome to the March issue of leading news and resources for in-house counsel and legal operations professionals. In this edition, you’ll read about the return of in-person Legalweek NY, GC’s and CLO’s increased involvement in technology and business decisions, the future of human-in-the-loop technologies and a new legal tech-buying directory from industry expert Bob Ambrogi.

1. The GC’s Role in Tech Decisions

We all know that general counsel are increasingly helping their companies make technology-related decisions, but just how prevalent is this new role? According to the recent General Counsel Report from FTI Consulting, which surveyed 30 top in-house lawyers, 97% reported playing a role in their organization’s technology ecosystem, with 87% saying they were “heavily involved” in tech planning and purchases. Nonetheless, only 33% of respondents believed that lawyers have adequate knowledge of technology. This leaves significant room for technology education, which will be crucial as lawyers will only be expected to be more involved with new technology for law firms going forward.

Source: Law.com

2. “Human-in-the-Loop” Solutions Will Comprise 30% of New Legal Tech Automation Offerings by 2025

AI has taken the legal industry by storm, but human lawyers aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Gartner recently predicted that, by 2025, 30% of new legal automation solutions will combine technology and human input – also known as “human-in-the-loop” offerings. This hybrid approach to technology blends staff and software, with high-level technical expertise coming from the technology supplier rather than an in-house team. As the volume of legal work has grown faster than legal headcounts in most organizations, the human-in-the-loop model frees in-house lawyers from having to devote already-limited time and resources to developing domain expertise.

Source: Gartner

3. Here’s What’s On the Mind of Chief Legal Officers (Survey)

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Exterro recently released the 2022 Chief Legal Officers Survey, with results from 861 chief legal officers and general counsel representing organizations across 20 industries and 38 countries. The survey found that CLOs are increasingly playing a vital role in business and taking on more responsibilities. Legal ops pros are pivotal right now, and investment is accelerating accordingly, with 70% of CLOs listing legal ops as an area of focus for their department’s top strategic initiatives. Finally, delivering value to customers was cited as a top priority, so, not surprisingly,  contract management is the top tech area in which CLOs plan to invest going forward. CLM helps companies accelerate revenue, streamline processes and manage legal obligations – which can have a huge impact on your bottom line.

Source: Association of Corporate Counsel

4. Industry Leaders Launch Information Hub for Legal Tech Buyers

Robert (Bob) Ambrogi has been a leading voice in the legal tech industry for nearly two decades. His latest venture, along with his son Ben Ambrogi, a media specialist and producer, is the release of the LawNext Legal Technology Directory. The directory is designed to provide readers with the information they need to make legal tech buying decisions, including intel on product features, pricing, independent reviews and more. “Our goal is to continue to develop this into a comprehensive directory of products, reviews, learning resources, and more, where buyers can find trusted information to guide their purchases, and where vendors can help their products be discovered and distinguished,” Bob explained.

Source: Law.com

5. Connect With Onit at Legalweek NY!

Legalweek returns in person this year! From March 9-11, Onit will be joining the legal tech community in New York to engage with our customers, share our products and discuss the growth of our company in the last two years. Our Legalweek session, Building Stronger Connections to the Enterprise (Thursday, March 10, from 1:30 – 2:30 pm ET), will feature panelists from Hearst, Corteva and MassMutual sharing their vision for why it’s imperative for legal to “connect” to the broader enterprise and how they’re implementing processes and technology to make these connections. On Wednesday, March 9, we’re co-hosting a happy hour with PwC, and on Thursday, March 10, we’re co-hosting an exclusive dinner for in-house legal leaders with Consilio. The Onit family of companies will be at the Cyber Café on the 3rd floor of the Hilton, offering demos of Onit products built on our workflow and AI platforms and offering fun giveaways. Of course, you can always schedule time in our private demo room away from the exhibit hall floor to take a deeper dive into how Onit products can help your legal department better manage legal work, costs and risks. Register for any or all of these activities now. We hope to see you in NY!

Source: Onit

We look forward to bringing you more news and insights as the new year progresses. As always, if you want to learn more about our legal business solutions, including enterprise legal management, contract lifecycle management, AI and more, schedule a demo today or email [email protected].