CANLIF Survey Suggests Tech Solutions to Combat Escalating Challenges

Last week the Canadian Legal Innovation Forum (CANLIF) released their first Legal Department Survey, comprised of data from over 80 decision-makers in corporate legal departments. Among those surveyed were general counsel, legal counsel, and legal operations from various industries, including financial services, education, technology, government, and real estate.

In general, CANLIF found that legal teams’ primary sources of frustration were burnout, increased workload, and inefficiencies due to lack of innovation.

41% of those surveyed reported that their teams have made strengthening their entity management a high priority this year. Still, 38% are finding that they have a hard time assessing the appropriate technology solutions. 

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Those surveyed also reported that the past year has introduced new challenges into their department’s daily workflow and put pressure on concerns that have remained stagnant over years past. 

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Some challenges that legal departments still face are compliance management, contract management, and data governance. Meanwhile, the sudden shift to remote work has integrated new frustrations, such as data management (staying on top of everything), data privacy compliance/work from home compliance, and managing growth with limited remote resources.

Moreover, many cited that their innovation budgets have either stayed the same or increased minimally. In fact, 59% of those surveyed stated that budget has the most significant impact on innovation. One Senior In-House Lawyer said, “Firms need to recognize the cost pressures, and [. . . ] should only be undertaking work that adds value (i.e., we should be paying for expertise, and not administration).” With money being expensed toward low-level administrative duties, there is little room to focus on the high-value tasks that contribute to growth. 

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This lack of motion in budget increase, coupled with the past year forcing new challenges upon legal departments that are still struggling to combat perpetual problems, new technology solutions are more crucial than ever before. A platform that understands the need for automation and inherently offers the collaboration tools that the market demands are the first step in tackling these concerns. Take a quick product tour to see how Athennian’s efficient and intuitive software can transform your legal department.

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To read the full CANLIF report, click here.