The legal industry is evolving from traditional support roles into being strategic partners that contribute to business success.
But are legal departments ready for transformation?
The report — Accelerate GC: Transform legal to transform business in CEE — explores how legal leaders in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are evolving their roles.
It analyses the legal departments of 104 large international companies in the CEE region, focusing on their evolving strategies, technology, and operations.
This comprehensive report highlights the current state of legal transformation and emphasizes the vital role that legal teams play in managing risks, enhancing efficiency, and creating new business opportunities through innovation and technology.
The key objectives for the year ahead are outlined in the report, divided into three main streams: cutting costs, attracting top talent, and revamping workflows to enhance operational efficiency.
Accelerate GC:
Transform legal to transform business in CEE can help you understand how legal departments can thrive
The report reveals both promising advancements and the challenges that lie ahead, with over half of respondents recognising the potential of new technologies but also highlighting significant barriers to transformation.
“The Accelerate GC: Transform Legal to Transform Business report, highlights the significant transformation occurring in legal departments across Central and Eastern Europe. This report offers insights into this transformation and underscores the critical role legal teams play in navigating risks, enhancing operational efficiency, and unlocking new commercial opportunities through innovation and technology. In today's complex economic and political landscape, legal functions are evolving from traditional support roles into strategic partners that can drive business success. We believe that by embracing this transformation, legal departments can truly empower their organisations to thrive.”
Legal functions are not just optimising existing processes but are also fundamentally rethinking how work gets done. This transformation involves deploying technology to reduce human error, accelerate service delivery and enhance overall operational efficiency. The emphasis on technology adoption extends to improving compliance and preparing for new regulations, such as those related to artificial intelligence. The survey showed that 36% of respondents cite technology as a game-changer for legal, while 49% use generative AI in legal operations.
Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties also add layers of risk and require agile responses. Moreover, an increase in complex disputes demands enhanced strategies and capabilities to handle intricate and high-stakes litigation.
“The ongoing challenges in Ukraine and the CEE region impact all aspects of life, particularly for individuals. Such a turbulent environment necessitates enhancing the adaptability and resilience of businesses, especially legal teams. They must balance performing immediate tactical tasks and contributing to long-term strategic planning. The report demonstrated that integrating legal functions into strategic decision-making is essential and highly beneficial for businesses.”
The survey results reveal a nuanced landscape in how legal functions are integrated into the strategic decision-making processes of businesses. Significantly, over one-third (37.70%) of respondents indicate that their legal function is always consulted when forming business strategies. This reflects a proactive approach, where legal expertise is woven into the strategic fabric of the company, ensuring legal considerations are seamlessly aligned with business objectives. However, for a slightly larger proportion of respondents (39.34%), the legal function is consulted only on an ad hoc basis, most typically when specific legal issues arise. This reactive approach can lead to missed opportunities for early legal insights and strategic alignment, potentially impacting the effectiveness of the overall strategy.
You can access the full report here.
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Managing Partner, Attorneys Association "PwC Legal in Ukraine"
Tel: +380 44 354 0404
