Interesting to read this recent article published by Thomson Reuters around the 'Top 5 ways in-house legal teams can do more with less'. What struck me is, yes these are all fairly sensible (and as the article mentions - in some respects "obvious") suggestions. However, although each can be viewed as individual actions that can be taken in isolation - where in-house legal departments can deliver greater impact is in looking to implement solutions that combine and integrate numerous elements discussed. In other words, leveraging a managed service model which:

1. already leverages innovative delivery models;
2. has invested in multiple service delivery centres to ensure the most appropriate level of resource is working on the right activities;
3. is able to continuously invest into technology and is incentivised in the right way to do so; and
4. is able to bring a broad range of operational expertise and capability, as well as deep legal know-how, to improve existing processes.

It is not surprising to see forward thinking GCs more recently establish specific legal panel arrangements to capture providers that can offer these "alternative" capabilities as part of their core DNA. I have seen this as a growing trend over the past two years and one, that I suspect, will only accelerate further given the current economic environment and greater acceptance around remote working. This has not only made outsourcing easier, but also more attractive for companies looking to cut costs, serve customers (internal and external) better, and innovate.