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The Latest in Corporate Legal News, Including Legal Business Solutions, Gift Buying and More (December 2021 Edition) | Onit

Welcome to the December digest of leading news and resources for in-house counsel and legal operations professionals. In this edition, you’ll read about what’s creating change in the business of law, building a scalable and future-proof contracting process, technology trends for outside counsel, the history of ELM and where to find gifts for the lawyers in your life.

1. The Four Primary Drivers of Change in the Modern Business of Law

The legal industry has seen significant changes in recent years. Legal professionals are starting to think differently about the business of law, focusing on new models for driving value, efficiency and effectiveness. Change is happening faster than ever and on far more sophisticated levels for corporate legal departments and legal operations. In this article, Brad Rogers, who has more than 25 years of experience in operations excellence, discusses what’s fueling changes in the business of law and how that influences transformation.

Source: Corporate Counsel

2. How to Future-Proof Surges in Contract Activity with Legal Business Solutions

Creating a contract system that handles legal work is challenging, as the ebbs and flows of legal work can be highly unpredictable. Inevitably, you’ll face periods where you see sudden surges of contract activity, whether due to regulatory changes, significant deals or something else. Are you prepared to handle the waves of work when they arise? Experts from VMware and the World Commerce and Contracting organization discuss how companies can best prepare for sudden workload surges.

Source: Onit Resource Library

3. The Technologies Your Law Firms Are Prioritizing, According to New Research From the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA)

When it comes to legal business solutions, what technologies are law firms prioritizing? ILTA has released its 2021 Technology Survey, which features the responses of nearly 500 lawyers. It points out some of the overall trends, such as the move to simplify the legal desktop, accelerated digitization due to the work from home model and increased automation of areas like matter intake, conflicts and approval workflows.

Source: ILTA 2021 Technology Survey

4. The History of the Enterprise Legal Management System

Did you know that a WANG VS word processing system kicked off the prototype for what is today’s enterprise legal management system (ELM)? ELM has evolved significantly since its first iteration more than 40 years ago, replacing paper-based systems with little oversight with sophisticated solutions that analyze legal spend, minimize risk and drive process efficiency. And this, in turn, helps corporate legal departments better support their businesses. This blog post breaks down the history of ELM and shares how some of the most innovative companies in the world are using it.

Source: Onit blog

5. Holiday Shopping for a Lawyer? Here’s What the ABA Suggests for Gifts.

Holiday parties are in full swing now, meaning it’s time to consider what to get for the lawyers in your life (and yourself!). The ABA Journal has spared us some Google searches by compiling this list of gift ideas. Justice-themed socks? Don’t mind if I do.

Source: ABA Journal

Happy holidays!