Data Governance

Question 1

Data governance explanation

Answer 1

-Data is the new king on the block for legal teams.
1This allows legal teams to track the activities of their lawyers in turn justifying the cost of the legal department as well as forming the basis that new tools and software are built upon.
-Therefore, data governance, from data privacy, data quality and accuracy is paramount to see value from this data.

Question 2

If they do

Answer 2

-If legal operations teams are to have good, effective data governance policies, they are able to maintain data privacy and good quality data.
-As such ensuring compliance and mitigating against risks and streamlining operations.
-The adage, rubbish in, rubbish out resonate here.
-The extension of this is they will have an accurate representation of the activities of their lawyers and therefore able to accurately spot inefficiencies and decide where to invest in tools and where to focus the energy of the legal team.

Question 3

If they don’t

Answer 3

-If legal teams are unable to master their data governance, they will see operational inefficiencies, making data more difficult to retrieve.
-Further, this links to legal and compliance risks.
-Needing to adhere to GDPR laws and if data is mishandled, this could result in legal repercussions.
-Finally, decision making can be inaccurate which can lead to poor strategic decision making.

Question 4

Strategies

Answer 4

-It is the role of the legal operations team to establish a data governance framework that outlines data handling, storage and management practices, this requires top-level buy in.
-This is important as much of legal data comes from other teams within the business such as finance or procurement.
-This will ultimately create consistencies.

Question 5

Solutions

Answer 5

Utilising legal tech can hep improve data governance. From data protection software such as Trace, Thomson Reuters legal solutions, InTapp or LawVu.

Question 6

Inhibitors

Answer 6

-Resistance from employees who are used to traditional frameworks and tools.

-Insufficient leadership and stakeholder buy-in. It is essential to have top-level support to permeate these changes throughout the organisation.

-Inadequate data quality. Good governance relies on accurate and reliable data.

-Regulatory and compliance requirements such as GDPR.

-Basic knowledge of the nature of data.

Question 7

Session

Answer 7

BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR CHANGE – ESTABLISHING DATA GOVERNANCE POLICIES FOR LEGAL TECHNOLOGY