1. Top things to consider when doing Strategic Planning for Legal
Tuesday, June 6, :45 PM - 1:455 PM
Top things to consider when doing Strategic Planning for Legal
Panelists will discuss approaches to strategic planning, keys to success, external as well as internal information to consider, how you know if it is successful, how is it perceived by the legal team or broader company, and more.
ACC Legal Ops Strategic Planning Interest Group

2. Aaron Van Nice Director, Legal Operations Baxter Healthcare Corp.
Aine Lyons Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Worldwide Legal Operations VMware, Inc.
Bob Taylor
Vice President, Senior Counsel
Liberty Mutual Group

3. What does Strategy (strategic planning) mean to you and why should a Legal Department do it?
Longer term time horizon
Holistic & integrated view of legal function
Alignment with goals and priorities
Well articulated focus areas
Changing environment
(ask to all)
Aine:
Aligning legal vision and mission to specific focus areas that demonstrates the Legal department is driving business priorities and mitigating risk for the company
Opportunity to leverage a strategic plan to get legal budget and headcount for key initiatives
Arsenal against big 4 advising the CFO that they can build a plan for the GC; if you don’t have a plan, someone else may build it for you!
Pressures – costs, resources, delivery mandates
In-house legal is a business
Speakers: Aine Lyons, VMware; Robert Taylor, Liberty Mutual; Aaron Van Nice, Baxter  

4. When doing Strategic planning where are some places to Start?
Information sources
Questions to think about
Pace of change in organization
Risk assessment
Time horizon
Data
Costs to implement
(Aaron to answer first and others can join the conversation)
Aine:
Alignment with the business strategy and priorities – interview key business stakeholders strategy (e.g., client interviews, SWOT analysis, risk assessments,
maturity models).
Risk profile and key focus areas – look at legacy data on claims and investigations to target risk avoidance measures
Build a plan that scales with the business – what should the Legal department look like in 3 years to be able to support a dynamic business (people, skills, processes, etc.,)
Operational excellence – build in efficiency measures to demonstrate focus on shareholder value with regard to legal spend. Provide data on the staffing models and
structures you may need to fulfill the company’s future needs.
Budget, level of effort and resourcing to achieve it - need to prioritize focus areas to ensure you can achieve them
If undertaking technology or other change initiatives, build in change management and PM skills
Business priorities
Speakers: Aine Lyons, VMware; Robert Taylor, Liberty Mutual; Aaron Van Nice, Baxter  

5. How do you measure success of your strategic plans?
Corporate success factors
Longer term view
Industry benchmarks
Client Surveys
(Ask to Bob first and others can add to it)
Aine:
Tactical implementation plan – specific goals, success metrics, owners and timelines
Regular cadence of status reviews to drive accountability and execution
Milestones, Metrics & KPIs
Speakers: Aine Lyons, VMware; Robert Taylor, Liberty Mutual; Aaron Van Nice, Baxter  

6. How often should you update your plan?
Dynamic, nimble approach
Major changes in company
Major changes in legal dept.
(Ask to Aine first and others can add to it)
Aine:
Strategic Plan should be dynamic and be revisited each year: 3-5 year strategic plan underpinned with an annual functional implementation plan, with funding and resources in place to achieve it
Review with CEO and CFO annually
Be agile and make changes as business needs change
Revisited each year
Speakers: Aine Lyons, VMware; Robert Taylor, Liberty Mutual; Aaron Van Nice, Baxter  

7. What are the important things to consider when doing a strategic plan for a Legal Department?
Prioritization
Business alignment
Funding
Risk mitigation
Why
Change management
Drive accountability
(Ask to all)
Aine:
Alignment with the Business Priorities
Undertake Prioritization Exercise
Risk Mitigation
Tactical Implementation Plan
Define & Measure Success
Drive Accountability
Secure Funding
Investment in People – skills development; managing change
Change Management
Define and measure success
Speakers: Aine Lyons, VMware; Robert Taylor, Liberty Mutual; Aaron Van Nice, Baxter  

8. Who should own the Strategic Planning Process?
Bonus Questions:
Can you describe a situation where there was a significant change and how did you manage the plan?
What are some key differences or considerations between an enterprise strategic plan and the Legal Department plan? Similarly, difference between Legal Department plan and Legal Ops?
Who should own the Strategic Planning Process?
Ask only if needed
Speakers: Aine Lyons, VMware; Robert Taylor, Liberty Mutual; Aaron Van Nice, Baxter  

9. Appendix: Graphics – e.g. Legal Ops Focus areas
Corporate or Legal dept. goals template or sample
Technology
Suggested reading

10. Suggested Reading
Strategy That Works: How Winning Companies Close the Strategy-to-Execution Gap- by Paul Leinwand, Cesare R. Mainardi
Porter, M. E. "What Is Strategy?" Harvard Business Review 74, no. 6 (November–December 1996): 61–78.
CEB Materials / ACC Law Department Management

11. Strategy in Legal Operations Management

12. Strategy in Legal Operations Management