Why Legal Ops Are 10 Years Behind—and Why That’s a Problem

Let’s not sugarcoat it: most law firms and professional services run like it’s still 2012. Manual processes, endless emails, and siloed teams are the norm.

A 2023 PwC survey found that 70% of firms cite inefficiency as their biggest operational challenge. And yet, many still believe doing things “the way we’ve always done it” is a strategy.

Here’s the truth: that mindset isn’t safe—it’s expensive. The firms that win today are the ones that fix broken systems, reduce waste, and build smarter workflows. I’ve helped global legal and professional service firms do exactly that. Here’s what works.

1. The Real Blocker? Tradition.

Law firms are built on precedent. But when your operations follow 20-year-old precedents, you get outdated results.

In many firms, process improvement is treated like a nice-to-have. Risk avoidance overrides innovation. Change moves at a crawl because:

• Decision-making is slow.
• Ownership is unclear.
• Culture resists new ideas.

“The system isn’t broken. It’s just allergic to change.”

2. Start With the Process—Not the Tech

Too many firms slap a platform like ServiceNow onto their problems and expect miracles. But tech alone doesn’t fix messy workflows.

At a well-known international law firm, I led a firm-wide service optimisation programme that touched everything from IT to secretaries to creative teams. We didn’t start with tools—we started with process mapping.

We mapped every current (as-is) process using BPMN 2.0 and IBM Blueworks. Then we redesigned future (to-be) processes that removed duplication, cut down wait times, and made responsibilities crystal clear.

Only then did we embed those processes into ServiceNow. The result? A solution that fit the business—not the other way around.

3. Listen to the People Doing the Work

Lawyers and support staff know their pain points better than anyone. But no one asks them.

That’s why we ran Voice of the Customer sessions across departments. These weren’t fluffy surveys—we sat down with users, got real about what wasn’t working, and used those insights to design better processes.

Because when people help shape the solution, they adopt it. No resistance. No excuses. Just results.

4. Standardise First, Automate Second

Here’s a rule: never automate chaos.

We worked with a leading global law firm’s Pitches & Pursuits team, where processes varied wildly across offices. Some tasks were duplicated. Others were missed completely. The fix?

• Standardise the workflow.
• Define clear roles.
• Build those steps into the system.

Only after that did we introduce automation. The team saved hours per week—and finally had a process that worked everywhere.

5. Don’t Just Patch It—Rebuild It

Some processes are too broken to fix. They need replacing.

Take the CLE (Continuing Legal Education) project. We mapped state-by-state processes, identified over 50 areas of waste, and rebuilt the system from the ground up. The result: faster compliance, fewer errors, and more value-added work.

Another example: the Litigation Systems Project. We unified four siloed teams, replaced manual spreadsheets with a new platform, and saved 5 full-time equivalents (FTEs) worth of effort. Even better? Data accuracy jumped from 20% to 80%.

6. Make It Stick: Train People to Keep Improving

Tools and processes are only half the battle. The other half? Building internal capability.

That’s why I’ve trained 100+ legal professionals on Lean Six Sigma principles. We don’t just fix problems—we teach teams how to spot and solve them on their own. The result is sustained improvement, not short-term fixes.

The Hard Numbers

From real-world legal and professional services projects, here’s what we achieved:

• $10 million+ saved
• 10,000+ hours freed up
• 1,000+ processes mapped
• 70% reduction in repeat errors
• Data accuracy improved by 60%

And none of that came from just installing new software. It came from fixing how work actually happens.

Final Thought: Law Firms Can Be Agile—If They Want To Be

The best law firms tomorrow won’t just have great lawyers. They’ll have smart systems, lean processes, and teams who know how to keep getting better.

“Efficiency isn’t the enemy of quality—it’s the path to it.”

So if your firm is still relying on emails, spreadsheets, and wishful thinking, maybe it’s time to improve how things work.

📞 Ready to modernise your ops without the corporate buzzwords?
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