As a busy GC, you're probably juggling contracts, risk management, board reporting, and a never-ending stream of requests – all while trying to make legal a strategic partner in your business. But here's the thing: legal ops doesn't require a big budget or a team of specialists. Just a few simple tweaks can help you work smarter, save time, and reduce stress.

Legal ops is about making things work better. A few smarter tools, clearer processes, and small shifts in mindset can go a long way. If you're spinning multiple plates – from risk, to governance, to contracts – this one's for you!

1. Map your top workflows and fix the friction

You don’t need a full-on audit. Just a quick sense-check of where things are getting stuck will reveal a lot. Start by asking yourself a few key questions:

• What are the most common legal requests?
• Where does the business get frustrated?
• Where are you or your team repeating yourselves?

It’s probably tasks like:

• Reviewing NDAs or standard contracts
• Fielding low-level compliance questions
• Managing contract sign-off by email chain

Quick win: Set up a simple tracker (Notion, Airtable, Trello – whatever works for you) to log requests and monitor progress. You'll spot patterns quickly, and it makes resourcing and reporting a breeze.

2. Build a contract playbook your team will actually use

Not a dusty PDF, but a live, working document that speeds things up and sets clear guardrails. Start small: one page for your most-used contract (usually an NDA or MSA). Include:

• Fallback positions
• Commercial ‘red lines’
• When to escalate
• Plain-English explanations to share with the business

Quick win: Store the playbook alongside the template itself and link it from your legal request form or intranet. If it’s easy to find, it’s more likely to be used.

‍3. Automate the obvious

Still managing NDAs manually or searching inboxes for that one indemnity clause? It’s time to stop!

Legal automation doesn’t have to mean a massive procurement process. Think low-cost, low-effort tools that reduce admin time.

Quick win:

• Use a basic form (Google Forms, Jotform) to collect NDA info, then generate a contract via doc automation (e.g., Docassemble, Woodpecker, even Word macros).
• Or, start even simpler: triage legal requests using a shared inbox, Outlook rules, or a Typeform linked to your contract templates.

4. Get clear on what legal is (and isn’t) here for

If everything defaults to legal, things slow down. Worse, you end up owning risks that really belong elsewhere.

Quick win: Write a short, friendly “how to work with legal” guide. Include:

• What to send, and how
• When to use templates
• What turnaround times to expect
• FAQs (e.g., “Do I need legal to review this?”)

Make it accessible and make sure your commercial leads know where to find it. You’ll save hours in the long run!

5. Make reporting count

Legal doesn’t always speak the board’s language – but it needs to. A handful of clear, relevant metrics helps show value, highlight risk, and justify resources.

No need to overdo it. Just pick three things that resonate with your stakeholders:

• Number of contracts reviewed
• Average turnaround time
• Legal blockers to revenue or product

Quick win: Start with what you can already track (from your workflow tool or inbox) and build from there.