From May to August 2023, more than 520 legal professionals based in Europe were surveyed as part of the Legisway Benchmark on the digitalisation of Corporate Legal Departments (CLDs), conducted by Wolters Kluwer and the European Legal Tech Association (ELTA).
The aim of this benchmark study is to assess and present a detailed report on how legal departments in Europe are progressing with the digitalisation of their processes. The study, completed by legal professionals based in more than 20 countries in Europe, revealed some interesting facts about the digitisation journey of CLDs today:
Firstly, legal departments have made progress in improving their internal processes. One in 3 legal departments say they have already improved collaboration between their department and the rest of the company or external partners, while 29% say they have improved the management of deadlines and priorities within their team. One in two departments has also created a "Legal Operations Manager" function to ensure that internal processes are optimised and run smoothly.
And Corporate legal departments are still looking to improve! In fact, almost one in two legal departments is planning to make improvements in legal information management. Some of the survey participants also shared their views on AI and how they see this technology impacting their day-to-day work: “I think that AI will save us a certain amount of time when it comes to carrying out certain tasks, but will make it necessary for lawyers to gain expertise in certain areas in order to be able to review errors and provide clarification.”
However, legal departments appear to be struggling to make rapid progress with their digital strategy as they face persistent challenges: 57% of CLDs surveyed said they were having problems securing budget for new digital tools, and 49% said they were struggling to win the support of teams and stakeholders. Around 1 in 5 legal departments in Europe say they have not established a precise digital strategy at all. In the UK, 34% also say they are struggling to make progress with the complete digitisation of their processes because it is complicated for them to redefine and reorganise the internal processes of their legal department.
To find out more about the digitalisation of legal departments in Europe, get your free copy of the Legisway Benchmark for Legal departments: https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en-gb/know/legisway-benchmark-for-legal-departments/?utm_campaign=wklswen_legisway_acq_legisway-benchmark-for-legal-departments-tofu_cld&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=lexology
