Law department priorities shift toward guardianship
2023 law department strategies
Law department priorities fall into four categories: protect, enable, efficient, and effective. While cost control is still of utmost importance, efficiency and technology are receding, likely because law departments have made huge strides in efficiency in recent years and have incorporated that work into business as usual. Regulation and compliance have expanded in importance, as has risk management, showing that law departments are focusing on their role as guardians of the enterprise.
Effective:
- Service
- Quality of service
- Talent
Enable:
- Business as usual
- International
- Business change
- Mergers and acquisitions
Efficient:
- Cost control
- Efficiency
- Technology
Protect:
- Risk management
- Disputes
- Data & cyber security
- Regulation and compliance
Source Thomson Reuters 2023
Global law department priorities
Compliance emerges as the top legal department priority globally. The Asia-Pacific region and mainland Europe are driving this change. Commercial legal advice and cost control remain the top two priorities in the U.S. and the UK. Companies outside the U.S. and the UK may see stricter regulations or work across jurisdictions, making their regulatory compliance requirements more complex and challenging.
United Kingdom
(including $60+ cos)
- Commercial legal advice
- Cost control
- Compliance
- Efficiency
- Risk & litigation mitigation
Global:
- Compliance
- Risk & litigation mitigation
- Cost control
- Commercial legal advice
Canada
(including $601):
- Commercial legal advice
- Compliance
- Efficiency
- Risk & litigation mitigation
- Cost control
Mainland Europe
- Compliance
- Risk & litigation mitigation
- Commercial legal advice
- Efficiency
- Cost control
Asia Pacific:
- Compliance
- Risk & litigation mitigation
- Cost control
- Commercial legal advice
United States
(including $50M+ cos.)
- Cost control
- Commercial legal advice
- Efficiency
- Risk & litigation mitigation
- Compliance
Number of responses: Global average (339), Asia-Pacific (68), mainland Europe (64), full UK (41), full U.S. (248), full Canada (60)
Source Thomson Reuters 2023
How priorities have shifted over time
Global regulation increases have given rise to the need for a strong compliance function within the legal department. Compliance shot from number five on the list of priorities in 2019 to number one in 2022. Top global compliance concerns include ESG regulation, changing securities regulations, geopolitical tensions, anti-money laundering efforts, cybersecurity, digital economies, data governance, and more.
2019
Day-to-day advice
17%
Proactive risk management and litigation prevention
17%
Cost control
17%
Improve efficiency and streamline processes
16%
Compliance and regulatory requirements
15%
2022
Compliance and regulatory requirements
22%
Proactive risk management and litigation prevention
21%
Cost control
19%
Provide more commercially impactful advice
18%
Improve efficiency and streamline processes
12%
Learn more about the state of the corporate law department.
