Collaboration With Other Internal Teams Flashcards
Collaboration with other internal teams
It is essential for legal teams to be at the centre of the organisation, they support all other functions of the business. Legal teams can often be seen as ‘the department of no’ and therefore seldom consulted early on in new processes. Collaboration involves the legal operations team being the connective piece between the legal team and key stakeholders in the wider organisation, whether it be the CFO or COO or procurement team leads to improve efficiency and communication.
If they do
Improving the collaboration of the legal team ultimately is the key to simple and free efficiency gains. If the Legal Operations team are able to ensure the legal team are consulted early on in new processes, contract negotiation or financial discussions, it is more likely that legal and compliance risks will be mitigated early. This not only improves efficiencies but also further improves the relationship of the legal team with the wider organisation. Further, if legal teams can master collaboration, they can master knowledge and skills sharing making for an improved legal service to the whole organisation.
If they don’t
If collaboration is not improved, inaccuracies will prevail as well as resulting in time being spent on repetitive tasks slow don the speed of decision making due to this.
Strategies
The legal operation team will often be seen the friendly face for the legal team building relationships with key figures such as the CFO and COO are key. Collaboration can be done through sharing legal knowledge, empowering the organisation with access to templates or self service, defining standard workflows and spotting risks early.
Solutions
Creating a FAQ doc can be a simple way to improve collaboration between legal and other departments.
Inhibitors
Resistance from employees who are used to traditional frameworks and tools.
Even though in many cases effective collaboration saves time, ironically a lack of time is often a key reason it doesn’t happen.
Organisational culture. Some companies culture will naturally lend themselves to better collaboration than others that are more siloed.
Confidentiality can inhibit collaboration and risk the inability to share knowledge or information.
Relevant sessions
Related Sessions:
ELEVATING LEGAL’S WORTH – EMBEDDING THE LEGAL TEAM AS A CORE PART OF YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH EDUCATION AND REPOSITIONING
- GWI
THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE – BETTER INTEGRATION OF THE LEGAL TEAM INTO THE WIDER ORGANISATION TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE RISKS
- Nordea
