How to Create a Strategic Plan For the Legal Department That Fits

What Is A Legal Department Strategic Plan?

A legal department’s strategic plan is a clear, written outline of your legal team’s goals, priorities, and responsibilities over a set period, usually one to three years.

Essentially, it helps align your department’s work with the broader business strategy and makes sure your team isn’t just reacting to tasks, but working toward something bigger.

This plan is especially useful if you’re trying to improve workflows, manage risk better, or show leadership how your team adds value. It gives structure to your efforts and helps you track progress along the way.

A typical legal department strategic plan includes:

• A summary of current strengths and weak spots
• Short-term and long-term goals
• Priorities for the department and individual team members
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress
• Tools or resources needed to support the plan
• A basic timeline and assigned owners for major tasks
• Steps to review, adjust, and keep the plan relevant

Having this all written down helps your legal team stay focused, make smarter decisions, and support the company more proactively.

Best Ways to Enhance Your Legal Department Strategy

You don’t need to rebuild everything to make your legal strategy better. A few focused changes can help your team work more efficiently, respond faster, and support the business more directly. 

The steps below offer simple ways to strengthen your department without adding extra layers.

1. Dig Deeper Into Your Current State

Before setting any strategic goals, take time to understand where your legal department stands today.

This means reviewing how legal services are currently delivered, how your team supports the business, and where gaps might exist. Without a clear view of the present, it’s hard to build a plan that actually fits your needs.

Start by looking at your workload, processes, and the tools you’re using. Are routine tasks taking up too much time? Are requests from other departments handled smoothly? Talk to in-house leaders and gather honest feedback. Ask what’s working and what isn’t.

General counsel and department heads should also review how the legal team supports the broader corporate strategy. Are you helping move key projects forward? Or just putting out fires? These questions can highlight where legal can bring more value.

By digging into current workflows and resources, you’ll see where improvements are needed and which areas already align with strategic initiatives.

This sets the stage for a more focused and realistic plan, one that reflects the actual demands on your team and ties back to your company’s goals.

2. Establish Your Goals, Priorities, and Key Performance Indicators

Once you’ve reviewed your current state, it’s time to set clear goals that support your legal department’s mission. These goals should align with the broader business goals and show how the legal function contributes to company success.

Focus on strategic priorities that bring the most impact. Keep them realistic, specific, and tied to what your team can control. Then, define key initiatives to support those priorities and decide how you’ll measure progress.

Here’s what to include:

• Strategic priorities: Focus areas like speeding up contract reviews, reducing legal spend, or improving policy adoption.
• Key initiatives: Specific projects tied to each goal, such as launching a contract playbook or updating internal processes.
• KPIs (Key Performance Indicators): Metrics to measure success, like average turnaround time or budget savings.
• Connection to business goals: Show how legal supports product launches, risk management, or market expansion.
• Legal operations involvement: Let your operations team help with structure, tools, and tracking.
• Planning for roadblocks: Build in ways to handle delays or resource gaps.

Strong goals help shift your legal department from reactive to strategic. When you tie your work to business outcomes and track progress with the right metrics, it’s easier to focus your efforts and show real results.

3. Develop Your Action Plan

With your goals in place, the next step is turning them into action. This is where your strategy team takes the lead.

A clear action plan gives your legal department the structure it needs to move in a single, strategic direction. It outlines what needs to happen, who’s responsible, and how progress will be tracked.

Start by reviewing your mission statement to make sure the plan stays aligned with your department’s purpose. Then, break down each goal into manageable steps and assign them to the right people. This keeps things moving and makes it easier to spot delays early.

Your action plan should cover:

• Key tasks tied to each goal
• Who’s responsible for each step
• Deadlines that are realistic and easy to track
• Resources needed like staff, time, or tools
• How you’ll work with each business unit to support company-wide goals
• Ways to review progress and adjust when needed

You’ll also want to think ahead. Overcoming challenges is easier when you’ve already set aside time and resources to deal with roadblocks. A solid action plan not only keeps your team focused. It also helps you stay ready for whatever comes next.

4. Create A Team

No strategic plan works without the right people behind it. To move your legal department forward, you’ll need a team that’s not just capable but also committed to the objectives you’ve set.

This means pulling in staff who understand the legal function, can manage day-to-day demands, and are ready to think ahead.

Begin by involving senior management. Their support makes it easier to allocate resources, set expectations, and keep your plan visible across departments.

You’ll also want input from key players in legal operations, and depending on your goals, it may help to include someone from the finance team. Their insight can help you track spending and find areas for better cost control.

For example, if one of your objectives is to reduce contract turnaround time, you might assign a senior attorney to lead the project, supported by a contract manager and someone from the finance team to track cost savings.

This setup helps make the goal clear, keeps tasks organized, and shows how each role ties back to the overall success of the plan.

Keep in mind that the team doesn’t need to be large but well-structured. With the right people in place, progress becomes easier to manage and much more consistent.

5. Invest In The Right Tools

Having the right tools can make a huge difference in how well your legal department works. Without the proper tech, even a solid plan can fall apart under delays, manual errors, or poor communication. Tools help your team stay organized and spend more time on higher-value work.

Look for platforms that support your team’s size, needs, and goals. Some tools help with document control, others with collaboration, and some are built to track performance or automate tasks. The key is to pick tools that solve real problems, not ones that just add more steps.

Here are some examples to consider:

• AI contract review tools like Percipient to speed up review processes and flag risks automatically
• Document automation platforms to help draft standard agreements with less manual input
• E-signature tools to move approvals along without printing or scanning
• Contract management systems to store, track, and manage contracts in one place
• Matter and spend management software to monitor external legal costs and track internal workloads
• Collaboration tools to improve communication across business units

Before rolling anything out, make sure the tool actually fits how your team works. Test it with a small group, get feedback, and take your time with setup.

6. Get Feedback From Your Team

No strategic plan works in isolation. For it to stick, your team needs to be part of the process.

Getting feedback early and often helps you make smarter adjustments and builds trust across the department. It also gives you a good understanding of what’s working, what’s slowing people down, and where new solutions might be needed.

Regular check-ins help with continuous improvement and make it easier to manage change without overwhelming the team. Feedback also brings in viewpoints you might miss when you’re focused on the bigger picture.

Keep your questions clear and direct. Avoid turning feedback sessions into a laundry list of complaints. Instead, ask questions that lead to better decisions, like:

• What part of the current process slows you down the most?
• Which tools help you work faster, and which ones don’t?
• Is there anything you think we’ve overlooked in our plan?

Feedback doesn’t have to be formal. Short conversations, surveys, or open meetings can all work. What matters most is listening, following up, and using what you learn to keep improving your strategy.

When people see their input being used, they’re more likely to stay engaged and support the bigger goals.

7. Keep Improving

Once your legal department strategy is in place, the next step is keeping it current. Things change—new laws, shifting business goals, or better technology can all affect how your team works. Reviewing your plan regularly helps you stay on track and spot areas that need attention.

Start by doing a simple SWOT analysis. This gives you a clear view of what’s going well, what needs work, and where new opportunities or risks are showing up. It’s a useful way to assess your progress without overcomplicating things.

Pay close attention to regulatory changes and how they affect your legal function. Staying updated helps your team avoid problems and stay aligned with company needs. It also keeps your plan focused on what’s relevant right now.

Talk to your team, look at recent results, and see where small improvements could bring better outcomes. Maybe there’s a new tool worth testing, or a quicker way to handle a task. These changes help you achieve more with less effort.

Finally, making regular updates to your strategy shows clear direction and supports long-term goals. It also demonstrates that your team is ready to adapt and deliver real benefits as things move forward.

Make Automation A Part of Your Legal Strategy

Legal teams are under pressure to do more with less. Automation helps take the weight off by reducing manual steps and improving consistency across your work. But the key is choosing the right kind of support; something flexible, reliable, and built to work with your team, not just around it.

Percipient is one part of that bigger picture. It combines AI contract review with human legal expertise, giving you speed without losing context. The software identifies clauses, risks, and inconsistencies based on your playbook.

Then, experienced legal professionals step in to confirm, clarify, and make sure everything aligns with your standards. You’re not just getting software but a service that works alongside you.

This kind of support works well when you’re juggling high volumes, working with different business units, or simply trying to move faster without losing control. Percipient fits into your current stack, works with your existing tools, and doesn’t require a self-serve setup.

If your department is planning ahead, automation should be on the table. See how Percipient can fit into your legal strategy.

FAQs About Legal Department Strategic Plan

What are the 5 components of a strategic plan?

The five core components usually include:

1. A clear mission statement
2. Defined goals and objectives
3. Key performance indicators (KPIs)
4. Action plans for each goal
5. Regular review and adjustment process

What are the 5 legal strategies?

Legal strategies vary by department, but common approaches include:

1. Risk management
2. Compliance planning
3. Contract strategy
4. Litigation or dispute resolution planning
5. Support for business growth (e.g., M&A, expansion)

What are the 7 elements of a strategic plan?

A complete plan often includes:

1. Mission and vision
2. Core values
3. SWOT analysis
4. Strategic objectives
5. Actionable initiatives
6. KPIs and tracking methods
7. Communication and alignment with stakeholders

How do you write a strategic plan for a department?

Start by reviewing your current state. Then define your goals, map out the key steps, assign owners, and choose how you’ll track progress. Make sure the plan connects to larger company goals and has room for regular updates. Keep it practical so your team can follow and adjust it as needed.