I recently had the pleasure of moderating an engaging FDCC roundtable discussion with fellow in-house and general counsel on the topic of managing the pressures of expanding legal and non-legal functions with often-times constrained budgets. Much of the conversation focused on the prospect of introducing selective new technology, including various AI based solutions, and the associated hurdles with internal resistance, data protection, privacy and security rules. Discussion further involved rising outside service rates with an emphasis on sharing innovative approaches to successfully manage the same. One important takeaway for me was the appreciation that most participants had similar internal pressures and time-constraints that hindered the exploration of new technologies or other methods to streamline work demands and rising costs. We can all talk about brutally prioritizing efforts, but in my humble opinion, there is an increasing need to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset to explore what existing and emerging options may support our particular organizations with a “do more with less” objective. More important, at least for me, is the need for ongoing collaboration with in-house and general counsel to explore innovative strategies that address this challenge, while also discussing implemented programs and their successes. Thank you FDCC.
