Blog: The Secret to Successful Legal Ops Projects
Legal operations projects promise efficiency, better reporting, and scalability, but too often they fail. This failure rarely comes from the tools themselves, rather it is how the project is set up and executed.
From our experience working with GCs and legal teams, 3 things consistently determine success:
1. Clarity
Before implementing a tool, define the business problem and what success looks like.
Avoid vague goals like “modernise legal”.
Focus on concrete outcomes such as “reduce NDA turnaround time by 50%” or “streamline intake for low-risk contracts”.
2. Cross-Functional Buy-In
Legal ops doesn’t operate in a vacuum; projects require collaboration across ops, legal, IT, finance, and procurement.
If these stakeholders aren’t involved from the start, they will inadvertently create roadblocks. Early alignment ensures the solution integrates smoothly and is supported across the business.
3. Change Management
Don’t underestimate the human side of transformation. Successful teams focus on:
Training users on new tools and workflows.
Communicating changes clearly to the wider team.
Following up to reinforce adoption and capture feedback.
Studies show 70% of transformation projects fail due to poor adoption, not poor tools.
Legal ops projects that combine clarity, collaboration, and change management succeed more often and deliver measurable impacts.
