By Rob Alston, Corporate Legal Consultant – Bill ReviewIQ
There is a noticeable uptick in interest among corporate legal leadership about legal spend management (LSM), particularly with litigation managers. Increasingly, leaders are looking for ways to better understand legal expenditures and establish clear performance measures.
Heightened interest in LSM stems from several factors, including significant law firm rate increases, growing market competition, advancements in AI, and mounting regulatory pressures. At the same time, many recognize areas where efficiencies can be gained.
Not so coincidentally, the role of Chief Legal Officer (CLO) has grown. In its 2025 ACC Chief Legal Officers Survey, the Association of Corporate Counsel found that 44% of respondents say their most critical roles is advising the CEO on strategy. CLOs also continue to have expanded authority in the organization with 70% indicating they have other departments now reporting to them, such as compliance, risk, ethics, and privacy. They also are heavily involved with M & A (58% reporting involvement there).
Given the increased authority and responsibility, Legal leaders are looking for better data and reporting to support decision-making. They are shifting away from ‘gut feel’ and “antidotal” approaches in favor of processes that can be measured.
Need to Know
The drive for better legal spend management is not merely about cost-cutting. It derives from the need to gain a deeper insight into how resources are managed and ensuring that companies are getting the best value and outcomes for their legal spend.
Given that Legal Departments are such large cost centers, CLO’s want to maximize performance everywhere they can, including legal operations and outside counsel management to optimize the value of their legal spend.
They need to stay informed with consistent reporting to reinforce their legal spend strategy is working or know quickly if a legal spend strategy needs changing.
The Best Solution
To address these greater expectations, legal teams and law firms are racing to invest in advanced tools and technology. That will accelerate as the modernization wave gains momentum.
Not all legal departments can afford the most sophisticated [technology] solutions or given the number of priorities be able to make a LSM platform change. This does not mean there are not meaningful approaches they can consider to better manage costs, improve compliance, and firm relations while also improving decision-making. There definitely are.
Control and Compliance
The balance between cost management and maintaining quality legal services is a delicate one and companies have varying preferences and direction based on their situation and strategy. You need a strong experienced service and expertise to execute on your specific strategy.
Most recognize the benefits of a data-driven approach to better managing the department. It is important to have data to back up legal spend strategies and make decisions based on rigorous analysis.
As part of that, a comprehensive approach combining system reviews with expert attorney audits to get a comprehensive view of legal spend and deliver exactly on the control and compliance balance each company wants to achieve.
This also usually results in giving more time back to staff for other strategic work.
Many Forms of Know-how
The role of legal spend specialists has become more important as tools keep improving and analysis yields results faster. These experts can help companies navigate the complexities of legal spend management, providing insights and skills that some teams may not have in-house.
Client advisors play a crucial role in helping legal departments extract and interpret the necessary data for better decision-making. For example, this approach can help uncover spending trends, areas of inefficiencies, and provide more insights on the performance of your firms around costs, compliance, outcomes, and time.
LSM as Differentiation
Legal departments that adapt to provide clear, actionable data on spending and performance will demonstrate their value to the C-suite and, more importantly, continue to contribute to organizational success.
About Bill ReviewIQ
Bill ReviewIQ has led the Legal Spend Management industry for over 35 years. Our holistic approach of leveraging technology and attorney audit expertise delivers industry leading savings and actionable insights for our clients. Today, Bill ReviewIQ extends that expertise to your existing LSM platform, offering seamless bill review that maximizes results and efficiency. Discover more at www.billreviewiq.com
