Innovating In-House: Driving LegalTech Adoption and Change

In a rapidly evolving legal landscape, in-house legal teams are increasingly turning to technology for solutions—though they are often not the first to be considered for innovation within their organisations. At our recent in-house legal roundtable, hosted in collaboration with Bruntwood SciTech, legal professionals came together to discuss their challenges, share experiences, and explore the future of LegalTech in their departments.

To start the session, Julian Wells, Director at Whitecap Consulting, provided an overview of the LegalTech in Leeds initiative and its progress this year.

A highlight of the event was a presentation by Anna Beaumont Senior Solicitor at Asda, who shared her experience with technology implementation in the retail sector, specifically within contract management at ASDA. Anna discussed the operational hurdles ASDA encountered when they transitioned to managing commercial contracts in-house. By adopting a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system, ASDA was able to introduce key metrics, track departmental trends, and optimise team performance. Anna emphasised the importance of understanding contract workflows, learning from past mistakes, and utilising webform intake for self-service proposals and reporting. Her journey underscored the significance of a clear strategy when introducing new technologies.

Key takeaways from the discussion

Throughout the event, attendees engaged in discussion about technology’s role in enhancing the efficiency of in-house legal teams. A recurring theme was that "You can't improve what you can't measure." The group explored how technology can help in-house teams improve reporting, making it easier to predict return on investment (ROI) or quantify the cost of inaction. One of the biggest challenges for in-house legal teams is demonstrating their value to the wider business, and better data collection is key to addressing this issue.

A few crucial learnings emerged from the conversation:

• Start small and simple: When implementing new technology, it’s important not to rush towards finding the perfect product. Instead, focus on developing a minimum viable product (MVP)—one that meets basic needs but can scale as necessary. By keeping the scope manageable and involving as many stakeholders as possible, teams can achieve broad buy-in and make meaningful progress.
• Time-consuming vendor selection: Many teams find the process of selecting the right technology vendor internally overwhelming and lengthy. The attendees highlighted the need for a streamlined vendor selection process to save time and resources.
• Cross-departmental buy-in: Legal departments should not work in isolation when implementing new technologies. Anna pointed out that expanding technology use to other departments, such as procurement, can drive greater buy-in from across the business by demonstrating how legal technology can save time and boost efficiency.

The ongoing challenge

The discussion highlighted the broader theme of how in-house legal teams are often not prioritised when it comes to organisational change management. Attendees discussed the difficulties they face in introducing new tech, especially when existing technologies already embedded within the organisation may be easier to adopt and gain approval for. Knowing what systems are available and having the time to investigate and evaluate them is a persistent challenge.

Going forward

The insights and feedback gathered from this roundtable will shape future LegalTech in Leeds activities, designed specifically to address the needs of in-house legal teams. The conversations reaffirmed that the journey towards technology adoption is not just about finding the right tools but about fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within legal teams.

A huge thank you to Anna for sharing her technology journey and to all the attendees for their contributions. We look forward to building on the ideas and strategies discussed and providing ongoing support to in-house legal teams through future initiatives. Stay tuned for more updates.

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If you're part of an in-house legal team and would like to join future discussions, we invite you to express your interest by messaging us on LinkedIn or emailing us at leedslegaltech@whitecapconsulting.co.uk

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