Corporate legal departments are facing an escalating workload, coupled with demands to reduce costs and mounting bills from external legal consultants. These findings were brought to light in a recent survey of Chief Legal Officers (CLOs) from around the world.
The survey, conducted by The Association of Corporate Counsel and Exterro, revealed that workloads of nearly 59% of CLOs have seen a considerable or slight increase in the past year. Only a meager 3% of respondents reported that their workloads have decreased. The burgeoning workload can be attributed to the additional duties being offloaded onto many legal departments, including compliance, privacy, and risk oversight responsibilities.
Simultaneously, the same survey also highlighted that 42% of corporate legal departments have been grappling with reducing costs while dealing with a rise in bills from outside counsel. This financial pressure, coupled with the increasing workload, paints a challenging picture for corporate legal departments across the globe.
The shift towards increasing workload and financial pressure puts CLOs in the pivotal position to find creative ways to balance these competing demands, drawing attention to the need for more efficient systems, and possibly, increased investment in legal technology.
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