Legal departments are increasingly expected to operate as strategic business partners. Yet many still struggle to clearly demonstrate their value beyond cost control and risk mitigation. The challenge is not a lack of impact, it’s a lack of visibility.
As highlighted in our white paper “Quantifying Legal Impact: The KPI Approach to Demonstrating Value,” structured metrics are essential for making legal work measurable, predictable, and visible at the executive level.
Legal work follows cycles. Litigation ebbs and flows throughout the year. Transactional work spikes during major business initiatives. Regulatory demands increase at predictable moments. While experienced legal professionals understand these patterns intuitively, intuition alone is rarely persuasive to leadership.
Without objective data, short-term spikes can feel like emergencies, prompting reactive decisions. The white paper emphasizes that historical KPIs allow legal teams to distinguish temporary fluctuations from long-term trends, reducing fear-based reactions and improving resource planning.
As one insight from the session explains, having visibility allows legal teams to “reassure leaders by showing what happened in the past and anticipating what’s coming next.”
The KPIs make it possible to monitor:
Ramy Barsoum, consultant and product specialist, summarizes:
“KPIs are not only used to measure, they are used to transform the perception of the legal function, moving it from a cost center to a true strategic partner.” — Ramy Barsoum, Septeo Legal Suite
Even though some legal activities are subjective, KPIs based on scores allow the impact to be measured indirectly. For example, analyzing variations in the volume of disputes or in the resolution time after a change in process makes it possible to objectively assess the effectiveness of legal interventions.
Jacques Waite, Corporate Director, Litigation at iA Financial Group, a client for over 16 years, explains:
“We were able to demonstrate real impact—such as reducing unnecessary litigations—by using the metrics within Legal Suite. This is how you measure quality without relying solely on perception.” — Jacques Waite, iA Financial Group
The KPIs also make it possible to show the value beyond costs, by highlighting:
Thanks to tools like Septeo Legal Suite, legal departments can exploit historical data, automate reporting and anticipate future needs. These insights are transforming the way they collaborate with other departments and strengthening their strategic role.
By combining KPI, data analysis and technology, legal departments can demonstrate their impact and move from being perceived as a cost center to that of indispensable strategic partner. The figures then become tangible proof of their contribution to the success of the company.
To go further, discover the white paper in its entirety right here: Quantifying legal impact: KPIs to demonstrate value
