Businesses are facing increasingly complex legal challenges, and in-house counsel are under more pressure to not only do more with less but also make contributions that drive real business outcomes.

This has led to a surge in demand for legal ops professionals, with 81% of legal departments confirming they’ve established a dedicated legal ops function in their organizations.

But what exactly does a legal operations manager do on a typical day at the office?

We’ll explain all that in this guide.

What is a legal operations manager?

“Legal Operations [Managers] are to lawyers what agents are to artists. They let lawyers focus on their art and provide the support they need to get the best results possible.”
~ Nicolas Leroux, CEO of Kalexius

A legal operations manager (or legal ops manager) is a professional responsible for helping the in-house legal department function more efficiently. This involves introducing systems and approaches, analyzing performance metrics, and managing resources to ensure the legal department has access to infrastructures and conditions that support its contribution to business growth.

“Over the past few years, hope has appeared in the form of legal operations, a discipline that focuses on the “unique” idea of treating in-house legal departments like any other part of the business.”
~ Sterling Miller, CEO and Senior Counsel for Hilgers Graben PLLC
Ten Things: Legal Operations – What In-House Lawyers Need To Know

In reality, a legal operations manager oversees the legal ops department—a multidisciplinary team that brings a wide range of expertise to support the legal function. This team comprises professionals from diverse backgrounds such as finance, data analytics, marketing, project management, and vendor management.

Also read: Legal Operations—Working behind the best legal teams in the world

What does a legal operations manager do?

“The easy way to describe the goal of legal operations is as follows: take on all of the tasks that do not require a law degree and free up in-house lawyers to focus on legal work.”
~ Sterling Miller, CEO and Senior Counsel for Hilgers Graben PLLC
Ten Things: Legal Operations – What In-House Lawyers Need To Know

Thanks to its multidisciplinary nature, the role of a legal operations manager encompasses a wide range of functionalities. However, the specific contributions of a legal operations manager will largely depend on factors like the size of the legal department and the organization’s overall objectives. 

Typical responsibilities include:

• Project management—Overseeing legal projects, ensuring timely completion, and managing resources effectively.
• Finance—Managing the legal department's budget, tracking expenses, and identifying cost-saving opportunities. 
• Tech stack management—Evaluating, implementing, and maintaining legal technology solutions like Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems, legal research tools, etc.

Also read: Same Goals, New Approach—Exploring AI in Legal Operations

• Data analytics—Analyzing legal data to gain insights into trends, identify risks, and inform decision-making.
• Vendor management—Selecting, managing, and negotiating contracts with external legal service providers.

“Think of legal ops as a multi-tool; a dozen different functions available on demand from a single person. Most legal ops roles cover process improvement, vendor management, communications and change management, IT and legal tech, legal spend, cross-department relationships,… the list goes on. It is still tricky to define the function precisely as it encompasses an extremely wide range of responsibilities and skills.”  
~ Nicolas Leroux, CEO of Kalexius

A day in the life of a legal operations manager

Every day is unique for the legal operations manager, presenting a different blend of challenges and opportunities. But this is what makes life in legal ops exciting.

Imagine you're a legal ops manager at a bustling investment company. Here's a glimpse of what a typical day might look like:

Daily Routine of a Legal Operations Manager:

8:30 AM: Clocking in

You stroll into the office, coffee in hand, ready to tackle the day. First up, check your email inbox. It's a mix of urgent requests, status updates, and the occasional "just checking in" message. 

You prioritize, delegate, and respond, all while mentally preparing for the 9 AM team meeting.

9:00 AM: The huddle

Your team—a mix of legal tech enthusiasts, data analysts, and process improvement gurus—gathers in the conference room for a morning briefing. You discuss ongoing projects, troubleshoot roadblocks, and brainstorm new ways to streamline legal operations.

10:30 AM: Diving deep into data

The meeting wraps up, and you switch gears to data analysis. You pull up the latest contract management reports, looking for trends and insights to share with the legal team. A few tweaks to the dashboard later, and you've got a clear visualization of contract cycle times and potential bottlenecks.

Also read: Stop Guessing, Start Measuring—How Contract Analytics Improves Legal Performance

12:00 PM: Lunchtime and learn

Lunch is a quick affair, often shared with colleagues from other departments. Today, you attend a brown-bag lunch session with the compliance team to learn about new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and their potential impact on investment processes.

1:00 PM: Vendor Negotiations

The afternoon kicks off with some back-and-forths with a potential CLM vendor. You talk pricing, service levels, functionalities, and demo schedule. It doesn’t go as anticipated. So, you cross the vendor off and reach for a different provider from your shortlist. This time, you find one that checks all your boxes.

Also read: Top Contract Negotiation Strategies

2:30 PM: Process improvement workshop

After the vendor call, you shift your focus to a process improvement workshop with a few members of the legal team, where you discuss the insights gleaned from your earlier data analysis.

Together, you dissect current workflows, identify inefficiencies, and brainstorm solutions. By the end of the session, you’ve outlined a plan to reduce turnaround times for contract reviews by 20%.

4:00 PM: Knowledge sharing

As the day winds down, you spend a few moments looking through the legal knowledge base to ensure that Daniel, a legal ops team member, has uploaded new resources as instructed earlier in the day.

5:30 PM: Wrapping up

You review your progress for the day and update your to-do list. A few tasks remain, but you're confident you'll tackle them tomorrow. Time to shut down your computer and head home, knowing you've made a tangible difference.

“As the Operations Manager at Flex Legal, two days rarely look the same for me. My main goal is to optimize our processes, drive efficiency, and ensure the seamless delivery of high-quality legal services.”
~  Ella Fischer-Slack, Operations Manager at Flex Legal

What personality traits make an excellent legal operations manager?

To thrive as a legal ops manager, you will need a healthy blend of the following personality traits:

• Strong leadership and communication skills: you need to be able to inspire and motivate your team, effectively communicate with various stakeholders ( lawyers, executives, and vendors), and manage conflict resolution.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills: You must be highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously without compromising on quality and deadlines.
• Analytical and problem-solving abilities: You should be able to analyze complex information, identify inefficiencies, and develop innovative solutions to improve processes and reduce costs.
• Adaptability and flexibility: The legal landscape is constantly evolving, so you must have the capacity to adapt to change, embracing new technologies and processes.
• Strong business acumen and financial literacy: You should possess a good understanding of business operations, financial management, and budgeting to make informed decisions that align with the organization's goals.

Also read: Top Skills Every Legal Ops Professional Must Have

Key Takeaways

For the typical legal operations manager, every day is a new mix of challenges and opportunities. Yet their contributions remain mission-critical to the success of the in-house legal department.

If you aspire to a career in legal ops, you'll need to have a strong combination of leadership, communication, problem-solving, and analytical skills, among others.

Want to learn from the experiences of top GCs and legal ops professionals? 

Check out Counsel Corner, where we interview and glean insights from some of the best legal counsel in the industry.

FAQs

What are the tasks of a legal operations manager?

A legal operations manager oversees the efficiency and effectiveness of a legal department by managing budgets, optimizing workflows, implementing technology, and ensuring compliance with best practices.

What is the salary of legal operations specialists?

According to SpotDraft’s salary report, a legal operations manager earns an average base salary of $131,923.

What is the career outlook for legal operations managers?

The career outlook for legal operations managers is positive. This is driven by the increasing demand for efficiency, cost control, and technological integration in legal departments. As more organizations recognize the value of legal operations, opportunities in this field are expected to grow.

How can I become a legal operations manager?

There are several paths to becoming a legal operations manager. Here’s a quick overview:

• Gain experience in law, business, or related fields.
• Develop skills in project management, finance, and legal technology.
• Consider formal education in legal operations.
• Build a strong professional network.
• Stay updated on industry trends.