In the realm of in-house counsel, the drive to be strategic business partners often hits a snag when it comes to transparency and accountability within their own contracts. Questions like the average turnaround time for an agreement or which clauses often cause negotiations to stall reveal gaps in their operational insights.

Gary Miles, a seasoned legal coach, sheds light on this critical oversight. During an insightful session on "Notes to My Legal Self," Miles pointed out that many legal teams, especially outside the largest law firms, operate without a clear understanding of their business metrics. "They work hard, but they don't track their performance against any benchmarks. They don't even know what KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to track," Miles stated.

The conversation pivoted to how litigators have long used metrics like case duration, win rates, and cost per matter to measure their effectiveness, suggesting that commercial lawyers should adopt similar practices. Metrics such as contract cycle time, negotiation frequencies, and compliance rates after signing could serve as a business health check, offering data-driven insights that surpass anecdotal evidence.

The practicality of integrating KPIs into daily legal functions is supported by platforms like TermScout, which turns unstructured contract language into structured data. This capability not only allows for benchmarking against market standards but also helps in identifying deviations and targeting process improvements effectively.

Gary emphasized starting with a small set of meaningful metrics, making them visible to the team and stakeholders to ensure everyone is aligned with the current operational status. This approach helps in pinpointing issues, whether they're in contract intake, review staffing, or approval bottlenecks, and adjusting strategies based on real-world data rather than theoretical best practices.

In today's fast-paced business environments, legal teams are increasingly expected to keep pace with the speed of deals. Demonstrating their efficiency and effectiveness through measurable KPIs can significantly enhance their credibility and decision-making confidence.

Ultimately, Miles's advice to both in-house and private practice lawyers is clear: when you measure the right things, you can manage and improve them. This approach doesn't just create more reports; it empowers legal teams with the clarity and confidence needed to drive measurable success.