January 24, 2025
Definition
IIn the past decade, legal departments have transformed from traditional cost centers to strategic business units. This evolution has been fueled in large part by legal operations professionals, who implement processes and technology to allow in-house counsel to focus on high-value legal work. Legal Ops as a Percentage of Legal Staff (LOPLS) measures how much of your team is dedicated to these operational roles.
While LOPLS can be a powerful metric, it’s important to calculate and compare it carefully. The ideal ratio will vary based on the size of the company and legal team, as well as how the legal operations role is defined. For instance, in some organizations, attorneys may wear two hats—balancing both legal and operational responsibilities—making precise categorization essential.
Measuring and monitoring LOPLS can highlight:
Justifying Staffing Levels: Monitoring LOPLS provides a data-driven basis to assess whether your legal department is appropriately staffed. If the ratio indicates a lack of operational support, this can be used to justify the addition of legal operations professionals. Conversely, a disproportionately high ratio may signal opportunities to realign resources.
Demonstrating ROI of Legal Operations: A well-balanced LOPLS ratio highlights the return on investment in legal operations. By showing how operational roles streamline workflows, reduce costs, and enhance productivity, you can build a strong case for maintaining or increasing investment in these roles.
Supporting Budget Discussions with Management: LOPLS can serve as a key input during resource planning and budgeting conversations. By illustrating how operational roles alleviate bottlenecks and improve efficiency, legal departments can justify funding requests or defend current staffing levels to management.
Benchmarking Against Industry Standards: Tracking LOPLS allows legal departments to compare themselves to industry peers. This helps identify whether the department is under-resourced or over-resourced in legal operations, providing a strategic framework for adjustments.
Identifying Resource Gaps and Opportunities: By analyzing LOPLS, legal departments can pinpoint areas where operational support is lacking, such as technology implementation, process optimization, or data analytics. This insight can guide targeted hires or role adjustments.
If you’re interested in exploring this metric further, along with other KPIs, check out my book, Legal Operations KPIs available on Amazon in English, Spanish or Portuguese. or as an eBook on Google Play in (English / Spanish / Portuguese). It covers over 80 metrics and KPIs with practical insights to help you get the most out of your legal department.
Visit LegalOpsKPIs.com for more information, exclusive resources such as expert interviews, a chart library, Excel templates, and to connect with a global community of professionals committed to advancing Legal Operations through data-driven insights.
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InfiniGlobe is a full-service consulting and software company. We have 20+ years of industry experience working with top corporate legal departments and law firms. Contact us at info@infiniglobe.com or at (833) LGL-TECH.