Metric of the Week (#14): Internal Spend as a Percentage of Total Spend (ISPOT)
- jamiemendoza7
- Mar 2
- 2 min read
March 3, 2025
Definition
Are you investing in your legal team or outsourcing your problems? How much of your legal budget stays in-house, and how much goes to outside counsel?
Internal Spend as a Percentage of Total Spend (ISPOT) reveals whether a legal department is building internal capabilities or relying on external support. It tracks the share of legal spend dedicated to salaries, benefits, software, research tools, and other internal resources versus outside counsel, ALSPs, and vendors.
What It Tells You:
A high ISPOT suggests the company invests in its legal team, choosing to expand internal capabilities rather than outsourcing.
A low ISPOT signals heavy reliance on law firms or ALSPs.
The right ISPOT depends on strategy. Some legal teams insource to control costs and build expertise, while others outsource to stay lean and flexible. Tracking ISPOT over time helps ensure alignment between spending, capacity, and legal risk.
Trend Analysis
If your ISPOT is rising, is it because you’re investing in tech and talent or because external legal costs are becoming unsustainable?
If your ISPOT is falling, is it a cost-saving strategy or is the legal team under-resourced and forced to outsource?
The key isn’t a high or low number. It’s whether the spending model supports business goals.
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.
See this article in Linked here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/metric-week-14-internal-spend-percentage-total-ispot-mori-kabiri
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.