To support the growing number of legal operations professionals advancing law department management in sophisticated legal departments, especially among the Fortune 500, the Association of Corporate Counsel today announced its formation of a new membership sector, ACC Legal Operations. The section will partner with existing groups to advance the burgeoning position of legal operations executive by providing law department management resources, benchmarking opportunities, conferences and forums that foster collaboration and accelerate innovation regarding how law departments are run.
The legal operations function is increasingly prominent in corporate law departments, especially those within large, multinational companies. According to the ACC Chief Legal Officers (CLO) 2015 Survey, 40 percent of CLOs of departments of 300 or more lawyers and 36 percent of CLOs of departments between 50 and 299 delegate operational management responsibilities. In these law departments, the role of legal operations executive supports the success of the Office of the General Counsel (GC) by running key law department advancement initiatives.
“In today’s corporate environment, driving value is a top priority, and legal operations professionals are at the forefront of leading these initiatives to run the law department more efficiently and effectively,” said Veta T. Richardson, ACC president and CEO. “We know that legal operations professionals can play a vital role in the success of multinational law departments and we look forward to supporting this collaborative community to spur innovation and strategic business practices.”
ACC Legal Operations will feature member-led regional groups and interest groups. At the local level, ACC Legal Operations will collaborate with existing regional groups in Chicago, Greater New York, Northern California, Southern California and Texas, and more over time. Interest groups, meanwhile, will address specific facets of the profession. These include external resource management, internal resource management, metrics & analysis, project & process management, technology & tools, litigation support & ediscovery and strategic planning. In addition, ACC Legal Operations members will also have access to career resources, including a job postings board, a member directory and the extensive ACC resource library.
ACC will also host its inaugural ACC Legal Operations Conference on June 3-4 in Chicago to provide in-person networking and educational opportunities for ACC Legal Operations members. Legal operations executives from Archer Daniels Midland, Medtronic, Motorola, Prudential, Baxter Healthcare, Adobe, 3M, Pfizer, NetApp and other companies will come together to discuss best practices and emerging trends in the profession, while keynotes will address the future of legal services and implications for legal operations professionals.
“Our new legal operations section, like ACC as a whole, will be member-driven,” Ms. Richardson said. “ACC Legal Operations will unite professionals across geography and industry and provide new opportunities to develop best-in-class processes, structures and strategies that help legal departments succeed.”
For more information on ACC Legal Operations and the June 2015 ACC Legal Operations Conference in Chicago, visit www.acc.com/LegalOps.