Findings from The 2025 Legisway Benchmark for Legal Departments reveal how over 700 in-house legal professionals across Europe and the US are tackling challenges related to economic uncertainty and rising business expectations.
Rather than bringing everything in-house to cut costs, legal teams are strategically leveraging external partnerships to optimize their operations. By carefully planning what areas of work are outsourced, they can dedicate internal resources on core activities while benefiting from external expertise.
Take a look at our infographic to discover the complete picture of how legal departments are restructuring their outsourcing strategies for maximum efficiency.
The strategic balance: what stays in-house vs. what goes out
Legal departments aren't outsourcing blindly. The benchmark data shows clear patterns in how teams divide their workload between internal resources and external partners.
Core operational activities like contract management, compliance, and entity management remain predominantly in-house. This makes sense from a strategic point of view—these activities require intimate knowledge of company processes and often require alignment with other stakeholders in the organization.
However, specialized and high stakes matters tell a different story. Litigation and intellectual property work are frequently outsourced, leveraging external expertise that would be costly to maintain internally. This selective approach allows legal departments to maintain control over routine operations while accessing specialized knowledge when needed.
Maximizing your outsourcing strategy
Legal departments that want to maximize their outsourcing strategy should evaluate complexity, budget constraints, and internal expertise to determine the optimal resource allocation.
High stakes matters requiring specialized knowledge go to established law firms, while routine, scalable tasks are handled by ALSPs.
Technology plays a crucial role in this optimization.
Teams with robust legal management systems can handle more work internally while maintaining better oversight of external partnerships. This way of operating enables smarter resource allocation and improved cost management.
Transform your legal operations today
The legal landscape is evolving rapidly, and successful departments are those that adapt their resourcing strategies accordingly. The complete benchmark report provides detailed insights into budget allocation, technology adoption, and partnership strategies that can transform your legal operations.
Download the full infographic for free to explore comprehensive data on outsourcing trends, budget allocation strategies, and technology adoption patterns.
