The legal department of an organization is responsible for providing crucial legal support and advice to the company's various business operations. However, to operate efficiently, the legal department requires effective management in several areas, including project and program management, firm and vendor management, and financial management. Without proper management, the legal department may lack clarity, predictability, and accountability, leading to unexpected shortfalls and tensions within the business ..read more

Workplace collaboration tools like Slack and MS Teams have become ubiquitous in many organizations. However, they also present unique challenges for data governance and ediscovery in the event of litigation. To avoid potential legal issues and fines, it is crucial to have a tailored retention policy, acceptable use policy, and employee training in place. Moreover, during litigation, having a well-defined ESI protocol and aligning with experts who understand the specific platform being used is important. This article will explore collaboration data best practices before, during, and after liti ..read more

In-House Legal Departments, like any other business function, must be efficient and effective to deliver the best possible results. They must balance their workload, comply with regulatory requirements, and provide legal counsel to their organization in a cost-effective and streamlined manner. That’s where a Legal Operations professional can help, particularly by prioritizing strategic planning, technology, and information governance to ensure the department runs efficiently and provides the best value to the organization ..read more

Once again, the CLOC Global Institute (CGI) has come and gone. But while we were there, Hanzo took a quick snapshot survey of Legal Operations professionals to gain insights into how people are using collaboration data and how it's affecting in-house legal departments ..read more

Collaboration during litigation is critical to ensure that all relevant information is discovered and reviewed. However, the emergence of various communication platforms like Slack and Teams has made the process more challenging. Collecting data from these platforms can be difficult as messages are stored differently, and there are different types of communications and channels to consider. Additionally, preserving and collecting collaboration data, and deciding on the best method to do so, presents another challenge. This article (part 3 of a 4-part series) explores the challenges involved i ..read more

In-House legal departments are under more pressure than ever to reduce costs, improve performance, and provide top-quality work. To achieve these objectives, leaders in legal operations can begin building higher-performing teams through optimization by focusing on these three key aspects: optimizing and maintaining organizational health, practicing operational efficiency, and training and developing the legal department ..read more

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend for companies to claim environmental sustainability, making public commitments to lower carbon emissions and other eco-friendly measures. However, this rise in environmental claims has also led to the concern of greenwashing, where companies make false or exaggerated statements about their environmental practices. This article delves into the issue of greenwashing, its risks, and the lack of accountability and regulation for ESG commitments. Sustainability initiatives are becoming increasingly important for businesses as they look to operate ..read more

The role of Legal Operations is becoming increasingly important in today's fast-paced and complex corporate legal department. With more companies expecting their legal departments to contribute to their overall vision and mission, as well as their bottom line, a greater emphasis has been placed on managing and optimizing these departments ..read more

Collaboration data is essential for many businesses in the digital age. However, determining how long to keep records on communication tools like Slack and Teams has become a challenge due to legal cases. Companies must balance regulatory requirements, business needs, and records hygiene when managing collaboration data. To help with information governance, many organizations are turning to technology. This article (which is part two of a four-part blog series) investigates the challenges faced by companies when using chat applications and how technology can assist with managing collaboration ..read more

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend for companies to claim environmental sustainability, making public commitments to lower carbon emissions and other eco-friendly measures. However, this rise in environmental claims has also led to the concern of greenwashing, where companies make false or exaggerated statements about their environmental practices. This article delves into the issue of greenwashing, its risks, and the lack of accountability and regulation for ESG commitments ..read more