I have written a lot about delegation, both in the blog and in my last two books, Showing the Value of the Legal Department and The Productive In-House Lawyer. Specifically, I write a lot about why delegation is important and how to do it. This past week or so it has dawned on me that I have not really spent any time talking about what to delegate other than a few asides thrown in here and there. That is an oversight I would like to correct. Like many of my blog posts, one of the first things I do is search to see if anyone else has already written on the topic. I really couldn’t find anything written on what in-house lawyers should delegate. This generally means I have a pretty wide-open field to play in, which I plan to take full advantage of![1] I decided to do what I almost always do and that is reach back to my past and think about the things that were delegated to me as a young in-house lawyer (some), things that I asked to have delegated to me (a lot), and things that I delegated to my team once I was in a position to do so (plenty but should have been more). All of what you read below is pretty specific to my in-house experience – though I suspect they are universal to any in-house lawyer in any legal department anywhere in the world. So, fill up the coffee mug and get ready to go deep into the world of delegation as this edition of “Ten Things” takes on the task of setting out things in-house lawyers can (and should) delegate.
Set-Up
Usually, I would dive right into my list of ten right after the introduction. But today I am going to spend a little bit of time on the “set-up,” i.e., some of the things you need to know before delegating. Let’s start with why it is so important. Delegation is all about the long game, i.e., you delegate because you already know how to do something and it’s time for someone else to learn so you can spend time on new or more complex work while someone younger or less-experienced can learn new skills and increase their value to the legal department and the company. Yes, you can do it faster yourself, but that’s not the point.
Second, when you delegate, there are several things to keep top of mind: a) you will need to spend time explaining the project to the person you are delegating to, b) you will need to (certainly at first) schedule regular check-ins to monitor progress and make sure things are on track, c) you must be ready to give (helpful) feedback, taking time to explain “why” something is not correct and how best to fix it, i.e., you cannot just dump and run, and d) you have to let them do it their way, i.e., you are focused on the results and not so much on how they got to the result – everyone does things differently and if you want someone to do things exactly like you would do them you need a clone not a colleague.
Lastly, when you are thinking about things to delegate:
- When considering who to delegate to, you are not limited to just lawyers. Paralegals, legal ops, and administration are all on the list. Similarly, you are not limited to just people within the legal department. If it doesn’t require a law degree, then pretty much anyone who can fog a mirror can be a potential delegatee. Well, except MBAs but that is a painful and long story (filled with violence and bloodshed…).
- When thinking about “what” to delegate, try using a 2×2 “what to delegate” matrix to help you decide.[2]
- And, here are some of the “types” of tasks that should be on your list to delegate (high level):[3]
- Tedious tasks that require little skill.
- Tasks better suited for someone else’s specialty.
- Time-consuming tasks.
- Recurring/routine tasks.
- Tasks that bore the living shit out of you.
- Tasks that make good learning experiences.
- Tasks that require focus on constantly evolving or changing laws, regulations, or other requirements.
Okay, the table is set, you have a spork in hand, and it’s time to dig into the really useful stuff (I hope). Here are my ten things in-house lawyers should delegate:
1. Budget. One of the most critical tasks for legal department leadership is dealing with the budget. This includes creating the yearly budget and then managing the month-to-month spend (for law firms, other vendors, and the administrative costs of running the department). It also includes preparing spreadsheets and charts and becoming a key attendee at any budget-related meeting (internal to the department or outside of the department). A time-consuming but important component of budget management is communicating with outside counsel throughout the month to understand the accrual, i.e., the accumulating hours on a particular project. Making the effort to stay in direct contact on a week-to-week basis allows for incredible precision in understanding what money is being spent and why (and if things are off course, the ability to right the ship quickly). All of these tasks are great experience for younger members of the department or those with an itch to become general counsel.
2. Board slides/minutes. There is little more exhilarating for a young in-house lawyer than touching anything having to do with the board of directors. Such opportunities are rare but are important to developing the department’s next group of leaders. Start with having someone help prepare any legal department slides for the board meeting. If appropriate, and to the extent the legal department is asked, they can help with the review of other slide decks for different parts of the business (this is where a trusted lieutenant can get a deep understanding of the business). Second, assisting with preparing the minutes post-meeting is another helpful task to delegate. If possible (and big “if” here, unfortunately), the lawyer you are delegating things to should attend all or at some of the board meetings. Regardless, learning how to properly capture the deliberations of the board is a fantastic learning experience.
3. Strategic plan/yearly goals. Every legal department should have a strategic plan in place at some point, i.e., a document outlining the planned development of the department over the next 12, 36, and 60 months. Letting one of the younger lawyers own the process and take on the task of doing the initial research and interviewing team members and business leaders about where the legal department should be going over the next few years and then preparing the first draft (and help lead the debate to get to the final product) is gold. A close second but just as important is helping the leadership develop the yearly goals for the department. It requires the same type of interactions with members of the department and the business but is more focused on the immediate vs. the long term.
4. Key performance indicators (KPIs). This is a natural follow-on from the strategic plan/yearly goals delegation above on No. 3. More and more, it is important for the legal department to measure its progress against objectives, i.e., KPIs. Not only is this informative to members of the department, it is becoming table stakes when reporting on the operations of the legal team to the C-Suite and finance team. It also takes up a lot of time, which makes it a great task to delegate. First, the delegatee should deeply understand the goals of the department, they will also need to work with members of the department (and the finance) team on the best ways to measure progress. Second, they must create a visual way to display the results, typically in a “dashboard” of some type. And third, they will need to develop the presentation skills needed to present the results to you and, if lucky, to senior management (under your watchful eye).
5. Legal department website. If you are a regular reader of the blog, you know that I was there with the Internet was introduced to legal departments. I was mostly standing around minding my own business, but I was there.[4] One of the first tasks delegated to me as a young in-house lawyer was responsibility for the legal department website. Back then it was all greenspace, i.e., I had nothing to go on but my gut instinct about what a legal department website should look like and what information it should contain. Needless to say, I screwed it up royally. But I (and it) got better. And it forced me to learn what was important to the business in terms of information and help they needed from the legal department – yes, I had to go talk to people and ask them what they wanted to see on the website. I also had to develop a relationship with the tech folks in IT (which paid off in many ways down the road). And I had to stay up to date on technology and what other legal departments were doing with their websites. All of this helped me on my path to becoming general counsel. Today, a legal department website is an extension of the department – an extra pair of hands and a crucial marketing tool. Done correctly, it can provide a first stop for employees, providing a 24/7/365 answer machine (especially if you can incorporate a dedicated chatbot into the site). This can reduce cost and wear and tear in the department and provide a better experience to your fellow employees at the company.
6. Outside counsel management. Above I mention delegating the budget process. That process is heavily influenced by spending on outside counsel. Successful legal departments have great relationships with their outside lawyers and that doesn’t just “happen,” it takes effort and planning. Thus, another great task to delegate. Outside counsel management includes the following:
- Outside counsel guidelines (creating, updating, compliance).
- Engagement letters.
- Fee discussions (including monitoring unapproved fee increases)
- Surveys and feedback.
- Selection.
- RFPs.
- Access to firm resources and training.
- And more!
Not only is this excellent training for younger lawyers, but it can help the department become a smarter and more efficient user of outside counsel services and maximize the value of the same.
7. Department meetings/offsite. Department meetings are an indispensable part of the day-to-day rhythms of life as an in-house lawyer. For many legal departments, these meetings are something to just “get it over with,” a necessarily evil that deserves the least amount of attention possible. I respectfully disagree. In addition to being necessary, they are also – if done correctly – critical to the success of the department and the morale of the team. Ensuring they get the right amount of attention is reason enough to delegate the task. In addition to any type of traditional monthly or quarterly meeting of the entire department, this can also include “huddle meetings” or any other regular meeting involving the entire or sub-set of members of the department. The delegatee can handle the agenda, the technology, room reservations, etc. In a similar vein, smart general counsel plan on regular offsite meetings for the legal team, i.e., bring the entire team together at a location to reconnect, plan, and learn. The operational part of an offsite is a perfect task to delegate (which can include delegating the annual client satisfaction survey as part of the process).
8. Checklists/SOPs. Time to talk checklists! I am so excited! Yes, everyone knows I love checklists and standard operating procedures (“SOPs”). They are key to operating an efficient and smoothly-operating legal department. They are also fairly simple to create but they do take time and follow-up, making them yet another deserving task to delegate. It starts with identifying what tasks or processes can be/should be reduced to a checklist and then writing out the same. It requires that the delegatee sit down with the people in the department who handle the task or process you are seeking to capture and ensure they have all of the critical steps and information. Most importantly, they need to test the results and keep all of the checklists and procedures current. A carefully prepared and well-maintained set of legal department checklists and SOPs is the gold standard for any legal department. Moreover, once a specific task or process is captured in a checklist or SOP it can be easily delegated too – so a double bang for your delegation buck! Delegation of checklist also includes management and follow-up on the department’s yearly checklist, i.e., a checklist of things the department must do year in and year out to maintain the department and the fundamental underpinnings of the business (e.g., registrations and licenses).
9. Artificial intelligence. Perhaps the biggest development in terms of productivity enhancements for in-house legal departments is the advent of generative artificial intelligence, or “GenAI” to most. While GenAI brings a lot of promise and potential, it also brings some risks and problems. All of which means lawyers, and especially in-house lawyers, must be smart and careful about how they use it. In uncertainty and risk lies opportunity – more specifically for today’s purposes, an opportunity for someone to “own” GenAI for the legal department. In other words, the perfect delegation opportunity! GenAI reminds me of a law school exam, there is so much going on that it is hard to focus on getting the answer right. So, in addition to finding the right person to head up GenAI for the legal department, here is what I would task them with (at least to start):
- Help the legal department embrace GenAI.
- Develop legal department policies regarding the use of the same.
- Develop “prompts” to assist with most common tasks – keep them up to date.
- Teach others how to use it.
- Explore free products and low-risk tasks (understanding the risks). Then look for good GPTs and browser extensions.
- Evaluate GenAI products of established companies.
- Stay up to date. Things are happening fast, and the ground keeps shifting. Constantly looking for the most current information about GenAI from trusted sources.
- Outline ethical obligations around the use of GenAI.
10. Knowledge management. Last on my list of key things to delegate is something that is frequently ignored or, at a minimum, not properly valued and that is “knowledge management.” Knowledge management for an in-house legal department refers to the systematic process of capturing, organizing, sharing, and utilizing knowledge and information within the department. The goal is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and overall performance of the legal team by ensuring that everyone can access and apply the most recent and relevant knowledge quickly and accurately. Key aspects include:
- Document and information management: Organizing contracts, memorandums/research, presentations, precedents, and other documents so that they are easily searchable and accessible.
- Knowledge sharing: Encouraging collaboration and communication within the legal team, as well as with other departments (such as HR, finance, and compliance), to share legal insights, lessons learned, and best practices.
- Legal research and resources: Creating a centralized database or repository of resources (case law, statutes, regulatory updates, etc.) and providing tools for efficient legal research, e.g., Practical Law, Practical Guidance, etc.
- Training and development: Continuously building and updating the legal team’s knowledge through training programs (CLE), workshops, and access to external legal resources.
- Technology and tools: Using knowledge management systems (such as document management software, contract lifecycle management tools, etc.) to facilitate the storage, retrieval, and sharing of department knowledge.
In essence, knowledge management in an in-house legal department is about ensuring that valuable expertise is not lost, is easily accessible, and is effectively used to support the department’s – and the company’s – goals (and reduce legal risks/maximize opportunities).
*****
Well, that’s all for this edition of “Ten Things.” I hope you find at least a few things to stimulate your thinking on what tasks you can (and should) delegate. And, don’t stand around waiting for someone to delegate things to you – go ask for what you want! If you are a manager, start thinking about 2025 and how you can make delegation a bigger part of how you work. Even if there is nothing specific on my list that appeals to you or ties in neatly to your specific situation, that’s okay. It is really about the process, i.e., thinking through what tasks you are dealing with today and which of those are best suited to delegate and then taking the right steps to get them off your plate. If done correctly, you make your workday easier and someone else’s workday better.
Sterling Miller
December 3, 2024
My new book (number six), The Productive In-House Lawyer: Tips, Hacks, and the Art of Getting Things Done, is now available for sale! Santa says, “It’s the perfect holiday gift. I bought Mrs. Claus two!” Listen to Santa, he’s making a list… You can buy your copy (and a copy for all your friends, siblings, and random strangers) here: Buy The Book!
My fifth book, Showing the Value of the Legal Department: More Than Just a Cost Center is available now, including as an eBook! You can buy a copy HERE.
Two of my books, Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel – Practical Advice and Successful Strategies and Ten (More) Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel – Practical Advice and Successful Strategies Volume 2, are on sale now at the ABA website (including as e-books).
I have published two other books: The Evolution of Professional Football, and The Slow-Cooker Savant.
(Yes, the above is a huge hint to go out there and buy some books damn it. Help a guy out!)
I am also available for speaking engagements, webinars/CLEs, coaching, training, and consulting.
Connect with me on Twitter @10ThingsLegal and on LinkedIn where I post articles and stories of interest to in-house counsel frequently.
“Ten Things” is not legal advice nor legal opinion and represents my views only. It is intended to provide practical tips and references to the busy in-house practitioner and other readers. If you have questions or comments, or ideas for a post, please contact me at sterling.miller@sbcglobal.net, or if you would like a CLE for your in-house legal team on this or any topic in the blog, contact me at smiller@hilgersgraben.com.
[1] If you are aware of any articles, blogs, or other publications that tackle this topic, please post in the comments to the blog or in the comments to the LinkedIn version. I think the more information on this topic the better.
[2] See Effective Delegation for Lawyers Series (Part 1): What Can You Delegate? at https://leadwisegroup.com/effective-delegation-for-lawyers-part-1/ (accessed December 1, 2024).
[3] See 10 Tasks You Should Delegate at https://www.stackfield.com/blog/10-tasks-to-delegate-91 (accessed December 1, 2024).
[4] Literally in the same room with Al Gore… who still owes me $10.00 and my only copy of “The Catcher in the Rye”. And I will collect …