1、Thomson Reuters Institute 2023 Legal Department Operations IndexBuilding a focus on protecting and enabling the business Thomson Reuters 20232023 Legal Department Operations Index 2Executive summaryCost control and efficiency rank high on the list of corporate general counsel priorities across the g

2、lobe,and particularly in the US.1 It is,therefore,understandably incumbent upon those responsible for overseeing the operations of corporate law departments to align with these priorities in ways that benefit both the law department and the broader enterprise.This is no small mandate,and it requires

3、 focus on a large number of priorities.At the same time,legal department operations(LDO)professionals must also structure their efforts in a way that reflects the broader realities around them including technology trends,economic influences,and the changing strategies and alignments of outside couns

4、el law firms.To better understand how LDO teams are balancing these often-competing interests,the Thomson Reuters Institute is pleased to produce this latest iteration of our Legal Department Operations Index.Among the key findings in this report:A strong majority of law departments are experiencing

5、 an increase in the volume of legal work.At the same time,many are trying to handle an increasing share of their workload with internal resources rather than outside counsel.At the same time,nearly two-thirds of law departments report that total department budgets are either flat or decreasing,furth

6、er reinforcing the“do more with less”mantra.A majority of law departments report an increased use of legal technology tools in the past year,despite a generally slow pace of adoption of new technology.For the majority of law departments,attorney headcount is unchanged,meaning the increased volume is