Why modernising legal operations matters more than ever

At the recent NSW Legal Summit, one issue really stood out. In-house legal teams are under tremendous pressure to do more with less. They’re being asked to wear multiple hats, and many have responsibility not only for legal, but also governance, risk, compliance, audits and even ESG. Burnout is rife, due to the sheer volume of work being done. 

The need to modernise legal operations — to find new efficiencies, improve visibility, and better manage risk — is more important than ever. In fact, it was voted the number one strategic initiative in a 2022 Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) survey. 

Question is, how? Some legal teams have taken important steps towards modernising by implementing things like electronic signatures, but that’s only part of the equation. Many legal teams are pondering bigger questions around how best to drive new operational efficiencies and, in turn, free up time to focus on the things that matter most. 

To find some answers, DocuSign’s Jennifer Lachlan spoke to two highly experienced experts in this field — Janie Plant, Associate Director and Senior Legal Counsel at Capgemini, and committee member of both ACC and the Legal Technology and Innovation Community; and Marcus Hannah, Senior Legal Counsel at DocuSign — in our recent webinar on modernising legal operations. 

Section 127’s eSignature revolution

To shed light on just how impactful a digital solution can be on a legal team’s workload, Janie shared the example of documents that need to be signed under Section 127 of the Corporations Act. In the past, wet signatures from two Directors (or a Director and a Company Secretary) were required. Getting those signatures was hard work, and took a lot of time.

“We had situations where we needed to get a document signed by multiple parties in multiple locations. We’d have to print it out, get someone to sign it in the first location, send it to another location and get it signed again. We’d also need to make sure that someone was handling the transit in each location. And a person coordinating the entire effort so we’d always know where that document was,” said Janie. 

Then Covid came along, and a then-temporary legislative change was introduced to enable electronic signing. “Now, all that time spent chasing signatures can be reduced down to a matter of a few days, depending on the availability of your signers. For organisations that do a lot of work that requires Section 127 signatories, eSignatures are a game-changer.”

As this example shows, even small changes to legal processes can make a big difference. And the good news in this area is that ongoing legislative reform around eSignatures is continuing across Australia. “It’s all moving in the right direction to get rid of those final few exceptions like deeds and mortgages,” said Janie. 

Looking beyond eSignatures to the digitisation of contracts

eSignature is just one piece of the digital puzzle when it comes to legal contracts. Legal teams are crying out for technology solutions that are easy to adopt, and remove friction from day-to-day tasks. At the same time, business leaders want to see that any new technology they invest in will positively impact the bottom line. 

Marcus weighed in here. “If we’re looking to digitise the contracting process, my priority is efficiency, usability and security. And often this boils down to picking the right software for the job. Ultimately, the right software should make our job easier. I might review 10 different agreements on any given day — if I can streamline the process of reviewing, negotiating and signing these documents, the benefits really add up over time,” he said.  

“Usability is also very important. Most lawyers are creatures of habit. If the technology is clunky or confusing, users will get frustrated and most likely revert back to our old ways of working. And, of course, security and legal compliance is extremely important due to the risks associated with the mismanagement of documents and data.”

The bottom line? If you choose a reputable vendor that ticks those boxes around efficiency, usability and security, then the benefits outweigh the initial upfront cost.

Gaining an unforeseen advantage

With a digital contracting solution in place, legal teams not only reap time-saving benefits. One of the greatest improvements legal teams experience is in fact around visibility, auditability and tracking. 

Relying on team members to add calendar updates for when a contract is up for renewal is risky business. “Visibility of your contracts is critical because it enables the organisation to appropriately manage its risk. For example, knowing if a contract is coming up for expiry, or for renewal, or when price increases need to be applied. And, more importantly, understanding what your obligations are under the contract,” explained Janie. 

“We’ve seen some great use cases come up recently, particularly in financial services with things like the LIBOR changes — organisations had to go through all of their contracts and see wherever LIBOR was mentioned. Just finding that information is huge, so having a technology and database that does it for you saves a whole lot of time and effort.”

Given that most in-house lawyers are having to do more with less, these examples of efficiencies are a welcome change. By leveraging the right technology, you can remove repetition and friction, allowing your team to concentrate on more important work and deliver on priorities. 

“Our team uses contract management tools to streamline the overall contracting process and eliminate or at least automate many of the laborious or tedious tasks that are often associated with manual contracting. Features like approval workflows, smart alerts, better version controls and audit trails save a whole lot of time,” said Marcus. 

Looking ahead in the legal industry

If the Legal Technology and Innovation Community’s vision is anything to go by, the future of the legal industry is lit up with digital solutions. Speaking about her role at the ACC, Janie said, “We seek to light a spark of inspiration, encouraging in-house lawyers to embrace all the technological changes that are coming to the legal profession. Open your eyes to what is available and how you might apply it to bring efficiencies to your day-to-day.” 

Marcus agreed, saying, “The digital transformation of legal services is well underway. In 2023 and onwards, legal teams will continue to adopt new technologies and we’ll start to see more of an emphasis on end-to-end digital transformation as more powerful tools become available. And AI technology will impact the legal profession in potentially very significant ways, but not anytime soon.” 

Before the robots take over, make sure your legal department has the time and capacity to develop the soft skills that will be in greater demand as more legal processes become digitised. To find out how DocuSign CLM can make it easier than ever for your legal teams to manage agreements, watch the DocuSign CLM demo in the webinar now.