Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Efficiency definition

What does Efficiency mean? Efficiency, in legal practice, means delivering the same or better outcome with fewer resources (time, money, people), or increasing outputs from the same inputs. It is a descriptive term used across public law, procurement, regulation and litigation rather than a single statutory concept, though it features in Best Value and audit frameworks that emphasise the “three Es”: economy, efficiency and effectiveness. In England and Wales the Local Government Act 1999 imposes a Best Value duty; Scotland has the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003; Northern Ireland has the Local Government (Best Value) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. In Ireland, the Public Spending...

In-house Legal Operations for Small Teams: Strategy, People, Process, Technology, Finance, Suppliers, Knowledge and Metrics

Published by a LexisNexis In-house Advisor expert

Practice notes

Many lawyers will smile knowingly when ‘legal operations’ is mentioned, then quickly change the topic-whether due to uncertainty about what the phrase truly covers or nerves triggered by the prospect of change. This Practice Note seeks to clarify what ‘legal operations’ means, the areas it spans, and how applying legal operations practices-lightly or in depth-can benefit your legal team and your organisation. Alongside this Practice Note, further Practice Notes delve deeper into each aspect of legal operations. They are intended for in-house lawyers who want to secure some of the gains of legal operational Efficiency but do not yet have the organisational support or budget for a dedicated legal operations team. Accordingly, these notes are aimed at in-house lawyers working as a small department within small to medium-sized organisations. By contrast, organisations in highly regulated sectors, however small, are likely to need significant specialist legal support with distinct operational requirements and therefore fall outside the Scope of this series.

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