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In-house lawyers list their biggest challenges

New research has identified the obstacles in-house legal professionals are facing within their corporate environment.

user iconEmma Musgrave 09 October 2018 Corporate Counsel
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Lawyers Weekly, in partnership with Thomson Reuters Legal Australia, has released a new report – In-House Legal Tech Report – which has investigated the technology trends within in-house legal departments. The In-House Legal Tech Report also provided pivotal insights into the challenges faced by in-house lawyers.

According to the report, in-house legal professionals rank their biggest challenge as having what they describe as an increased workload over the past 12 months.

 
 

The second biggest challenge was identified as having difficulty responding to legal queries due to the volume and spontaneity of requests, while the third biggest challenge was cited as having difficulty in responding to problems outside of their area of expertise.

Respondents to the report also said a challenge was that their legal department “cannot generate analysis and reports to inform strategic decision making”, while others said they cannot respond to legal queries quickly “due to the lack of quality and availability of precedents”.

The report also found whether in-house lawyers believe they have the technology to do their jobs.

Only one-third of this surveyed believe they have suitable access to the legal technology required to do their job, and said they use it frequently.

Thirty per cent stated they have access to legal technology, but use it in a limited capacity, while 38 pr cent said they do not have access to legal technology at all.

Other findings from the In-House Legal Tech Report were discussed in a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show: Talking technology for in-house legal departments. Click here to listen to the podcast. 

Emma Musgrave

Emma Musgrave

Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.

Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences. 

Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.

She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University. 

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