Standout examples of in-house lawyers’ work

Read the other FT Innovative Lawyers North America ‘Best practice case studies’, which showcase the standout innovations made for and by people working in the legal sector:

Practice of law
Business of law

Standout

Honeywell: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 9; Total: 25
Management of sanctions compliance for transactions has been improved at Honeywell, the engineering and technology conglomerate, thanks to a new tool. It automates processes to update documents, approve requests, and identify and report on any frozen assets, and also helps ensure that compliance continues if sanctions change. The tool has cut the compliance team’s response times to new sanctions-related requests from the business. The team has also trained a machine-learning technology to predict tariff codes for imports and exports, which has more than doubled the team’s capacity to classify 10,000-plus parts exported each month.

Highly commended

Flex
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
Electronics and diversified manufacturing company Flex built an in-house tool to expedite the process for sealing agreements with customers. The contract lifecycle management software tracks metrics on more than 3,000 contracts, and live dashboards are available to the senior managers, business units and legal team to manage risks and spot trends. For example, the tool provided hard evidence that lower-risk contracts are correlated with higher margins. Separately, an ethics and compliance scorecard provides detailed comparisons and data on compliance-related activities on more than 10 Flex sites.

Intel
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
The legal operations team at Intel is making sure the computer chipmaker’s legal team is both fully equipped, and ready, to use artificial intelligence as it develops. Legal operations staff spent two years cleaning and ordering the legal department’s data, which allowed them to start testing more than 40 practical applications for generative AI. The in-house team is also working with law firms to test use of AI assistants in litigation e-discovery processes.

Marsh McLennan
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
As part of a strategic push to modernise the legal and compliance team of more than 650 people, professional services group Marsh McLennan has created extra legal roles and introduced new technology. The new jobs include a chief legal innovation counsel and legal innovation and tech (LIT) team members. The new tech has helped to halve the time the team spends manually reviewing contracts and has automated financial crime alerting, as well as the way requests from the business relating to sanctions are handled. The LIT lab is now working with other teams in Marsh McLennan to develop tools to speed up data privacy, procurement and M&A processes.

Commended

Accenture
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
Working with AI tech company BlackBoiler, the legal team at professional services group Accenture has overhauled how it reviews contracts. Low-risk contracts are now reviewed, edited and sent to the relevant person for signature within five minutes. For more complex documents, the tool ensures a human reviewer focuses on the most important clauses, which cuts manual review time by up to 90 per cent. The approach has cut the number of contracts that need legal review by nearly two-thirds, improved turnaround time and made it easier for clients to do business with Accenture.

General Motors
O: 7; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 21
Supply chain disruptions caused a flood of new requests to General Motors’ global purchasing and supply chain legal team. It worked with other departments — legal operations, operational excellence, and IT — and drew on management methodologies, such as Agile and Six Sigma, to create a new process and a tool to manage requests.

Equitable
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
Each year, financial services provider Equitable manages 100 or so legal “holds” — instructions to preserve often large volumes of data ahead of an expected litigation. The legal team led a project to automate the previously manual process and to stop storing data in multiple locations. As a result, it has saved more than 1,500 manual hours and cut both data costs and the risk of missing data.

Standout

Liberty Mutual: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 8; Total: 24
For global insurer Liberty Mutual, managing legal spend and relationships is highly complex, as it handles thousands of litigations a year and uses more than 1,000 firms to cover all the legal specialities and jurisdictions. So a legal data science team and in-house lawyers created new data models to manage legal spending and relationships. The team takes a data-driven approach to compare law firms and to allocate cases. This has reduced the cost of litigation.

Highly commended

The Clorox Company
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
Consumer goods maker Clorox implemented comprehensive changes to improve how it manages budgets and outside law firm fees. The legal team can now track legal spend via real-time dashboards and has cut costs by 20 per cent while handling higher volumes and greater complexity of work. Data on spending has led to more efficient use of its own resources and that of external firms.

Commended

Cardinal Health
O: 7; L: 8; I: 6; Total: 21
The legal team at US healthcare provider Cardinal Health has set out to achieve more strategic partnerships with its law firms. Changes include new feedback and reporting processes to ensure better value for Cardinal Health, but also a commitment to helping its law firms. For example, it actively facilitates law firm associates being involved in more interesting work. It also encourages law firms to set healthy boundaries around work-life balance when working on its projects.

Equitable
O: 7; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 21
The legal team at the financial services and insurance company is mandated to interview at least one leading counsel from a diverse background for every matter that it assigns to outside law firms. Leading counsel receive the most pay and credit. In 2023, 86 per cent of leading counsel on Equitable matters were from under-represented groups.

Intel
O: 6; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 21
Over the past 18 months, the legal team at the computer chipmaker has changed the way Intel allocates work to outside law firms, saving millions of dollars. It introduced outside counsel management technology, from Persuit, which it uses to compare bids for large legal matters and to manage work sent to lower-cost providers. Live feedback on law firms is now improving the way Intel works with its most-used legal partners.

Redfin
O: 6; L: 6; I: 7; Total: 19
Two technologies have helped the legal team at real estate services company Redfin to cut costs. Using ediscovery software Exterro, it can handle 80 per cent of litigation review work in-house, cutting the cost of this work by 25 per cent. And data provided by legal operations software Brightflag helps to manage spending on law firms.

Standout

Upwork: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 8; Total: 24
The legal team at freelancing platform Upwork leads on sustainability initiatives, including ways to reduce its environmental impact, and to promote diversity and inclusion. In 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the team helped make changes to support freelancers and businesses in the country that use the platform. Initiatives included providing fast access to funds. The team quickly identified more than 70,000 freelancers on Upwork in Ukraine and set up processes for business clients to request freelancers displaced or affected by the war. By September 2023, the Ukraine-based freelancers had earned more than $413mn through jobs advertised on Upwork since the start of the war.

Highly commended

Hewlett Packard Enterprise
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
The legal team designed processes, documents and training to allow technology company HPE’s financial services business to expand into offering asset management. The new business unit offers a range of ways for clients to manage their IT, with a focus on smarter, more energy efficient and generally sustainable use of tech. Lawyers helped design processes to allow computer equipment to be re-engineered and reused while meeting regulatory requirements. The new services will cut HPE’s overall carbon emissions and reduce electronic waste, which contributes by far the most toxins in landfill.

Amazon
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
A dedicated sustainability legal team is leading new initiatives to support decarbonisation at ecommerce company Amazon — for example, by investing in carbon capture and offsets, restoring rainforests, and co-founding the Climate Pledge Fund. This fund will invest in tech that helps companies reach net zero carbon emissions. Lawyers also led the creation and governance of a programme to flag to customers when a product bought through the platform has at least one of more than 50 sustainability certifications.

Commended

General Motors
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
As the US carmaker switches to electric vehicles, lawyers in General Motors’ securities practice team are designing sustainable financing to underpin the company’s broader commitments. The team supported the creation of General Motors’ sustainable finance framework and the issuance of its first green bonds. The $2.25bn raised in 2022 will support making electric vehicles and other clean energy projects and investments.

Standout

General Motors: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 9; Total: 25
Lawyers at General Motors formed part of a cross-departmental centre of excellence devoted to battery raw materials, which was tasked with securing and speeding up supplies of materials for electric vehicles. One of the team’s first deals was a $650mn investment in US miner Lithium Americas in early 2023. Lawyers negotiated a transaction in which the investment was sliced into tranches, delaying a portion of payment until after the separation of Lithium Americas’ US and Argentine businesses. This meant the second part of the investment could be made in the US entity only, which includes the strategically important, but contentious, Thacker Pass project in Nevada. Lithium Americas estimates the mine will produce enough lithium for up to 1mn electric vehicles a year.

Microsoft
O: 7; L: 9; I: 8; Total: 24
A new specialist unit within the legal team at Microsoft supports responsible and strategic use of data. It tracks trends relating to policies and regulation around the world, including the US tech company’s submissions to regulators and policymakers globally. The unit also helps research engineers and data scientists identify data that they can safely collect and use. It launched an awards programme to recognise best uses of data to support sustainability, health and social equity in Microsoft.

Uber
O: 8; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 24
The legal team plays a central role in the design and launch of new products by the ride-hailing platform, many of which have no legal precedent. In 2023, Uber Teen launched in the US to allow parents and carers to add teenagers to their Uber accounts so they can ride alone. Lawyers worked through legal questions to make safety features available, including audio recordings of trips and live tracking. Separately, the team has developed legal agreements to allow Uber to offer rides and deliveries in autonomous — driverless — vehicles. They are playing a prominent role in developing safety standards for the industry.

Highly commended

Brookfield Asset Management
O: 8; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 23
The legal team of the Canadian investment group’s infrastructure affiliate, advised by law firm Kirkland & Ellis, negotiated a creative investment structure for a $30bn joint venture with computer chipmaker Intel to expand a semiconductor plant in Arizona. Such facilities are traditionally financed by banks. But supply chain disruptions and legislation designed to subsidise US chipmakers and tech companies have led to demand for big but flexible investments to fund environmentally sustainable plants in the US. Brookfield’s move creates a model for private capital investments for similar deals.

Pfizer
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s plans to launch 19 new medicines and vaccines globally over 2023 and 2024 mean the international legal team is, in effect, working on hundreds of launches because each country has its own rules for intellectual property and regulations. The team created an online product launch hub, used by 400-plus legal professionals, to help manage risks consistently and to speed up their advice.

Commended

OpenAI
O: 8; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 22
The legal team at OpenAI, the start-up behind the chatbot ChatGPT, is navigating the unprecedented legal issues surrounding the development and regulation of generative AI as well as its own boardroom turmoil. It has supported OpenAI’s shift to a commercial “capped-profit” company structure, its fast growth since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, and partnerships that include $13bn in investment commitments from Microsoft.

OTC Markets Group
O: 7; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 21
Financial services business OTC Markets Group provides price and liquidity information for over-the-counter securities. Its legal team has now navigated complex regulations and won approval from the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to allow investors to trade digital assets on its platform. The team has also worked with legislators to create new rules for OTC-traded companies in order to raise capital and offer shares to employees.

The Not Company
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
The US-based legal team at The Not Company created simpler, modular contracts to enable the plant-based food tech group to partner with bigger businesses more easily. For example, the companies can now agree an initial R&D stage while postponing negotiation of future ownership of intellectual property. This faster, more flexible process has enabled the company to close several deals with leading big food brands.

Standout

DXC Technology: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 9; Impact: 8; Total: 25
Since IT services company DXC Technology was formed from a merger six years ago, its legal team of 400-plus has undergone several upheavals. It is now focusing on both staff wellbeing and on building skills to make the most of generative AI. Team members attend wellbeing sessions — with neuroscientists, and meditation and yoga instructors — and a software tool helps identify when they are overloaded with tasks. Training on AI, a requirement for the whole legal team, includes: generative AI prompting; advanced legal technology courses with the Legal Design School; and a four-month innovation course.

Liberty Mutual
O: 8; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 24
To keep pace with rapid legal and technological change, the team at the global insurer launched a legal innovation programme in 2022 to develop new products and promote more innovative thinking and actions. A new award recognises individuals or teams for trying something new, whether it succeeds or not. Innovation workshops enable lawyers to collaborate with technologists and other colleagues to develop ideas, such as processes to improve how lawyers work with the rest of the business on new products and complex contracts.

Highly commended

Moderna
O: 7; L: 9; I: 7; Total: 23
The legal team at pharma company Moderna has embraced generative AI through investment, training and working with the company’s technologists to develop AI applications. AI tools are changing how the team negotiates contracts, helping business colleagues prepare their own legal agreements, and helping to draft patents and manage trademarks. Moderna’s outside law firms are asked to share how they are using AI and must have an AI strategy for any new legal matter.

Prudential Financial
O: 7; L: 9; I: 7; Total: 23
The US insurer’s general counsel, Ann Kappler, leads a mental health and wellness programme for employees. An initial focus was to use open forums and talks from experts to help remove the stigma around talking about mental health problems. Employees can now access up to $1,000 a year to spend on wellness benefits, such as mental health services. In addition, managers will be assessed on how they support wellbeing in their teams.

Commended

Hewlett Packard Enterprise
O: 6; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 21
The Worldwide Innovation Law Lab (Will) initiative at the US tech company helps co-ordinate innovative projects across the global legal department. In the past two years, the team has introduced virtual reality for meetings as well as a platform, Micro-Tips, for employees to share advice via short videos on the tools they use. The Will project is now running training and collecting ideas for using generative AI within the HPE legal department.

The Clorox Company
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
The legal team at consumer goods business The Clorox Company designed an interactive game called “Hey Legal, This OK?”, in which a host asks legal questions related to Clorox’s business. The questions spur consideration of real legal and business challenges and generate an interactive discussion. The programme has improved team members’ ability to spot problems and has also created new connections, which helps foster knowledge-sharing across different parts of the team.