Report - The Legisway Benchmark for Legal Departments

Between May and August 2023, over 520 legal professionals based in Europe were surveyed as part of the Legisway Digital Transformation Mapping conducted by Wolters Kluwer and the European Legal Tech Association (ELTA).

This study aimed to assess and present a detailed report on the progress of European Legal Departments in the digital transformation of their processes. The survey collected responses from professionals in more than 20 European countries and highlighted interesting insights into the digital transformation journey of legal departments in Europe.

First and foremost, legal departments have made improvements to their internal processes. More than 30% of legal departments reports having enhanced collaboration with the rest of the company and/or external partners, while 29% believe they have improved priority and deadline management within their teams. Additionally, the role of Legal Ops is now found in one out of every two departments, tasked with optimizing internal processes for smoother operations.

Legal Departments are looking to further these improvements. In fact, nearly half of them plan to enhance legal information management. Some participants also shared their views on AI and how it will impact their daily work: "I believe this technology will allow us to save a significant amount of time on certain tasks but will require lawyers to expand their skills into other areas."

However, Legal Departments appear to struggle to accelerate the deployment of their digital strategy due to ongoing challenges. 57% of surveyed Corporate Legal Departments admit to facing difficulties in securing a dedicated budget for acquiring new technological tools, while 49% struggle to gain the support of relevant teams and stakeholders. Approximately one in five European Legal departments has yet to establish a clear digital strategy.

To learn more about the practices and challenges of European Legal Departments regarding digital transformation, download your copy of the Legisway Benchmark :

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