Corporate law departments in Hong Kong are dealing with increasing work-flow due mostly to the strong growth in many Asian markets and more international activity. These law departments are feeling great pressure, however, as they seek to comply and with not only domestic regulations in Hong Kong, but with a complex web of international rules as well.
Those are among the conclusions of a new report: The 2018 State of Corporate Law Departments in Hong Kong — the first annual report for legal departments in that region produced by Thomson Reuters and UK research firm Acritas.
The report also shows that, along with the rest of the world, corporate law departments in Hong Kong want to be seen as ‘modern’ and to that end are taking a far more proactive stance on innovation, technology, and partnership in order to add greater value to the organisation rather than being seen as a cost-centre that act reactively to the organisation’s legal needs.
Indeed, the report concludes that those modern law departments that embrace innovation and data-driven decision-making and work collaboratively with other parties will see improvement over the next five years.
You can download a free copy of ‘The 2018 State of Corporate Law Departments in Hong Kong’ here.
As the report further details, modern corporate law departments are leveraging efficiency gains and better information management through innovative use of new systems and technology, which enable departments to gain control of legal activity. This allows them to better understand both demand and legal spend in much more detail.
To that end, the use of metrics and measurement techniques that allow for more effective workflow management and decision-making have become a critical resource for these modern law departments as they become more data-driven. (The last section of this report defines a toolkit of 21 metrics that corporate law departments should consider tracking in order to develop a leaner, more effective legal function.)
The report also emphasises that the key to staying modern will be constant innovation. Legal departments can learn modernisation practices and techniques not just from their more adventurous peers, but also from alternative legal services providers and other disrupters on the supply side. By observing others at the cutting edge, legal departments will better understand how innovative approaches and technologies are creating new and different legal solutions.
The report also examines how modern corporate law departments are increasingly focusing on eliminating external legal advisors who understand their organisation’s business and industry. These departments often are selecting a smaller number of legal advisors by investing time in helping those advisors learn about the organisation’s business; encouraging feedback; and, rewarding proactive service.
By doing this, these innovative corporate law departments are most likely to reap the benefits of more business savvy advice and gain a more optimal result, the report concludes.
