The Legal Ops Playbook 2026

The Future of
Legal Ops is Here

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A new way to look at legal operations in 2026
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A practical, field-tested guide that redefines your legal work, justifies investment, and helps you understand how to use AI effectively.
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The 2026 Mandate is Clear: Adapt or Become Obsolete.

For decades, the legal function has been viewed as a cost center, a reactive bottleneck, or a necessary brake on business velocity. That model is ending.

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By 2026, the most successful legal teams will not be defined by how many contracts they review, but by the value they create. They will operate not as back-office support, but as proactive, data-driven strategic partners.

What you’ll find inside:

We’ve structured this guide to walk you through the essential stages of legal ops transformation:

01

The Modern Legal Function
Why you need to treat legal "like a product" and fix the user experience for Sales and Procurement.

02

Building Credibility & ROI
How to use data (even if it's imperfect) and "quick wins" to justify budget and prove value to the C-Suite.

03

The AI & Automation Playbook
Learn why AI isn't magic dust, but a strategic enabler for good processes.

04

Measuring Performance
Evolving your KPIs from vanity metrics like "time saved" to impact metrics like "decision quality" and "business acceleration."

05

Talent & Roles for the Future
The new skillset for 2026: Why "Product Design Thinking" and "Data Literacy" will matter more than just knowing the law.
Bonus Section

The 2026 AI Readiness Assessment

Don't just read about the future - diagnose your readiness for it. This playbook includes a comprehensive Self-Assessment Tool to rate your organization across Strategy, Process, Data, Systems, and People. Find out if you are in the Foundational, Operational, or Strategic zone before you spend a dime on new tech.
“Treat your legal function like a product. Understand your users, collect feedback, iterate often, and measure results. That mindset changes how you prioritise and how the business perceives you”
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Sarah Irwin
Founder and Community Builder, ITGC
“The biggest shift is moving from a ‘tool-first’ mindset to a ‘problem-first’ one... AI isn’t magic dust; it’s a strategic enabler that amplifies good processes and exposes weak ones.”
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Alessandra Colaci
CEO and Founder, Legal +AI
“A fancy CLM or AI system will merely automate whatever process you've got - good or bad. The real competitive advantage comes from smart process design, clear roles, and aligning legal and business teams before technology.”
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Lucy Bassli
Former AGC, Microsoft
“ROI starts with identifying the exact pain point you want to solve — deal velocity, risk calibration, visibility, or business enablement. Without that clarity, you're fishing in the dark, no matter how shiny your tools are.”
Smiling bald man with glasses wearing a black jacket against a bright blue background.
Akshay Verma
Chief Operating Officer, SpotDraft

Uncover the Legal Ops Playbook 2026