The Legal Operations Officer, also known as Legal Ops, has become an essential position in many legal departments and law firms.
In existence in the U.S. for some twenty years, this professional simplifies and organizes legal processes in order, in particular, to cope with the transformation of working methods and the expectations of a company’s internal customers.
This article is part of a series of articles on the different professions that make up legaltech.
Who is the Legal Operations Officer? ⚖️
Working within the Legal Department, with which he collaborates in tandem, he is also present at the heart of operations in all departments to ensure compliance. And he does this with the right processes and tools. In this way, he helps employees refocus on their core business by making the law understandable and applicable in their day-to-day missions.
In France, this profession has gradually gained a foothold, mainly in large groups, but not only. Over the past 10 years, the role of the Legal Department has indeed expanded, and it no longer has enough time to respond to all its missions. New regulations, such as the Sapin 2 Act, the RGPD and CSR obligations, have expanded its scope of action. So much so that the Legal Operation Officer has arrived, if not to her rescue, at least to assist her on these issues and to be in contact with the various departments.
The Legal Ops team is responsible for :
- The whole change management aspect of the digital transformation of the legal department.
- The choice of software that best facilitates legal operations.
- Controlling operating expenses.
- Evangelizing legal culture.
As a result, the Legal Operations Officer’s remit encompasses legal, financial and digital issues.
What training do you need to become a Legal Operations Officer?
As with many jobs that have come over from the USA in recent years, there isn’t necessarily a diploma that encompasses all the characteristics of the CLOO profession.
As a result, profiles that can launch a career in this field include business engineers, high-level consultants or even more financial profiles, as well as lawyers with a profile focused on tech and operations.
What is the Legal Ops job description?
Depending on the company, expectations may vary, given the cross-disciplinary nature of this profession, but here are the main characteristics to help you design your job description:
- Job title: Legal Operations Officer
- Position within the organization: reporting to the Legal Department
- Main tasks: Assist the General Counsel with actions to be implemented in the departments through change management in legal processes. Also, perform software selection and implementation. Additionally, control operating expenses…
- Internal and external relations: liaison with all internal departments/clients and with law firms representing the company.
- Working conditions and location: Part of the Legal Department. The Legal Operations Officer is required to work in other departments to implement processes.
- Technical, behavioral, managerial and cross-disciplinary skills: team spirit and leadership, rigor, versatility, proactivity, specialist in digital tools, communication skills, ability to listen and empathize. Also, should make the law understandable and be fluent in English.
- Professional experience required: In business engineering, finance, business law
- Training/Diplomas: Master – legal operations & transformation, university diploma in digital transformation of law & legaltech
The Legal Operations Officer’s salary
The salary of a Legal Operations Officer depends on the size of the company and the range of tasks entrusted to him/her. In a large group, a CLOO can expect to earn around 70K€/year, as the position is both coveted and reserved for experience in cross-functional areas. A smaller company, on the other hand, will offer between 50 and 55K€/year.
More junior profiles can join the legal department with this area of focus, for a salary approaching €35K/year, and gradually progress to a Legal Ops position.
Software for Legal Ops
Legal Operations Officers are at the forefront of innovations in digital tools related to their core business. In this respect, they place their trust in the Legaltech players, who offer SaaS software in which security and confidentiality are essential, in addition to the automation of time-consuming tasks. These include :
- Legal entity management software to simplify legal and financial procedures and maintain compliance
- Digitization of general meetings to automate document creation and online dispatch of invitations
- Monitoring subsidiaries and entities
- Virtual spaces for centralizing confidentialdocuments and exchanges between stakeholders
- Electronic signatures to facilitate workflows and certify documents in record time, with no security risks. This speeds up business, while complying with national and international legislation. It is one of the foundations of Legal Ops in its role as a facilitator of procedures. This makes Hyperlex and its partner HelloSign indispensable tools for Legal Ops.
As the guardian of the smooth running of the company’s legal operations, Legal Office Operations must literally bring all employees on board. His or her role therefore concerns both corporate strategy and change management.
In this respect, solutions such as e-signatures offer an evolution with immediate tangible results in terms of time savings and productivity.
Would you like to find out more about our electronic signature solutions?
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