GCs Should Focus on Operational Maturity to Meet Role’s Demands

The role of the general counsel has expanded dramatically. Today’s GCs are responsible for areas such as cybersecurity; environmental, social, and governance; regulatory compliance; and talent management.

Fortune 500 GCs are evenstepping up as enterprise leaders, helping guide companies through everything from geopolitical uncertainty to tech disruption, a 2024 analysis by Russell Reynolds Associates shows.

GCs also are operating as de facto chief risk officers. That comes with a new kind of pressure: to move faster, make better decisions, and show clear business value. Legal operations—backed by data, key performance indicators, and technology—are the levers that make it possible.

This is why operational maturity matters. It’s a strategic imperative that helps teams stay agile, aligned, and ready for anything.

Interconnected Operations

Operational maturity doesn’t mean perfection. It means your legal function is built to support the business enterprise-wide.

The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium defines operational maturity across 12 core capabilities, known as the CLOC Core 12. These include financial management, vendor management, legal tech, knowledge management, and alignment across business units.

Each function can evolve from foundational to advanced to strategic. A foundational team might track spend in spreadsheets.An advanced team uses dashboards and spend tools. A strategic team forecasts spend and links it to business goals.

That progression isn’t just theoretical. At the CLOC Global Institute in May, one team described how their tools evolved alongside their mindset. Early on, they were tracking spend because they had to. Then they started using reporting tools to find patterns and ask better questions.

Eventually, they stopped just reporting numbers and started using them to influence decisions—connecting legal strategy to business goals in a way that got the GC a seat at the table.

As departments mature, they become more integrated with other parts of the business. They’re connected to finance, information technology, procurement, and compliance. They influence decisions, anticipate risk, manage complexity, and drive outcomes.

Technology, KPIs, Data

To lead strategically, legal teams need tools that work—real-time dashboards, workflow systems, and audit-ready governance platforms.

Technology platforms enable real-time visibility into matter outcomes, contract cycle times, risk exposure, and resource allocation. When done right, legal ops turn complexity into clarity.

This kind of visibility changes how legal teams operate. Dashboards surface risk trends early enough to act. Collaboration tools connect teams across regions and functions so work keeps moving when the pressure is on. KPIs show where legal is reducing friction, improving outcomes, and supporting broader business goals. Together, these tools equip GCs to lead with clarity and measurable value.

With the right systems, GCs can stop defending costs and start demonstrating impact.

Legal Teams Today

Many legal departments are already on this journey. According to CLOC’s 2025 State of the Industry Report, 76% use e-billing and spend tools, AI adoption nearly doubled year over year, and more than half plan to adopt AI in the next two years.

Yet most teams sit somewhere between “emerging” and “developing.” That means the need for thoughtful investment in people, process, and tech is real.

GCs and legal ops leaders can start the process toward operational maturity by asking:

• Are we aligned with the business strategy?
• Are our metrics clear and actionable?
• Is our tech helping, or just adding noise?
• Can we scale—and pivot when change hits?

They should assess their current business operations and decide where they want to be in the future. The CLOC’s Maturity Assessment and Core 12 can help chart the course.

Risk is constant. So is change. The legal teams that will lead through it are the ones building operational maturity right now.

Legal operations are the engine behind the shift from service function to strategic partner. For GCs, investing in operational maturity is one of the most powerful ways to future-proof the function and elevate the GC role in the enterprise.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.

Author Information

Oyango A. Snell, an attorney and association executive with nearly 20 years of experience in legal, government, and corporate affairs, is executive director of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium.

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