The role of legal as a business enabler: Ignition Group’s legal approach to driving innovation and efficiency.
In today’s dynamic and fast-moving business world, the role of the in-house legal team has evolved far beyond traditional risk mitigation. More and more, legal departments are being recognised as key partners in driving business value and innovation. At Ignition, our legal team takes pride in viewing ourselves not as gatekeepers, but as enablers and facilitators of business growth.
This shift in mindset has transformed the way we approach our work and has also allowed us to become a crucial part of the business’s broader success.
The evolving role of legal
For many years, legal teams were seen as a necessary cost centre – advisors whose primary responsibility was to say ‘no’ or highlight the risks of a given initiative. While risk management remains a core function, today’s business leaders increasingly look to their legal teams to help navigate complex regulatory landscapes, streamline business processes and ensure the smooth execution of strategic goals. This is particularly true of international businesses such as Ignition Group which operate in more than one country. Legal needs to be a strategic partner that adds tangible value to the business.
To fulfil our role of growth facilitators, we actively work with cross-functional teams to understand business objectives and find innovative ways to meet them, all while ensuring that we are operating within legal boundaries. The key to this approach is a deep understanding of the business, a collaborative mindset and a willingness to leverage technology to improve efficiency.
What sets Ignition’s legal team apart?
What truly differentiates Ignition’s legal team from others is our proactive, solutions-oriented approach. Rather than reacting to issues as they arise, we aim to anticipate potential challenges and develop strategies to address them before they become obstacles. This involves:
- Business alignment: Our legal team is deeply integrated into the business, participating in strategic discussions and offering insights from the outset. We ensure that legal considerations are part of the decision-making process rather than an afterthought. This alignment fosters an environment of trust and collaboration, which enables us to move quickly and confidently on business initiatives.
- Cross-departmental collaboration: We actively engage with teams across the organisation, including finance, operations, marketing and sales, to ensure that legal considerations are aligned with business objectives. This helps us streamline the execution of contracts, minimise delays and ensure that deals are structured in a way that supports long-term business goals.
- Proactive risk management: Instead of waiting for problems to emerge, our team anticipates potential legal and regulatory hurdles and addresses them early on. This proactive approach allows the business to move forward without the fear of unexpected legal issues derailing plans.
- Tailored solutions: We understand that one-size-fits-all legal solutions rarely work in a complex and dynamic business world. Whether it’s negotiating a contract, developing new products or expanding into new markets, we tailor our approach to the specific needs of the business and its goals, ensuring that legal considerations are both practical and aligned with the business strategy.
The role of technology in driving efficiency
One of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to enhance the role of legal as a business enabler is technology. Legal processes can often be time-consuming, involving repetitive tasks, manual paperwork and extensive back-and-forth communication. We’ve implemented technology that reduces time to completion, allowing us to focus on high-value tasks and strategic advice.
- Contract management systems: By implementing advanced contract management platforms, we’ve streamlined contract creation, approval workflows and renewals. This technology ensures that contracts are standardised, easily accessible and can be tracked in real time. It has significantly reduced the time it takes to get agreements across the finish line, enabling the business to act faster and with more confidence.
- Legal automation tools: We’ve implemented automation tools that handle routine legal tasks like document review and template generation. By using AI and machine learning, these tools help us quickly identify key legal clauses, flag potential risks and ensure that documents are compliant with relevant laws. This allows our team to focus on more strategic legal issues while maintaining a high level of accuracy and consistency in routine tasks.
- Internal collaboration platforms: We use collaborative tools that allow legal to seamlessly interact with other departments. Whether it’s reviewing a new product launch or helping HR with an employee matter, these platforms enable real-time collaboration, which significantly cuts down on response times and accelerates decision-making.
Turning legal into a key business advantage
When making strategic decisions, time is often the most valuable resource. Every day that a deal or project is delayed can mean lost opportunities or increased costs. By leveraging technology, our legal team has been able to dramatically reduce time to completion for a range of legal processes. Whether it’s the speed with which we negotiate contracts, review regulatory filings or provide counsel on a new business initiative, our ability to operate with speed and precision has given our business a distinct competitive advantage.
This speed doesn’t come at the cost of quality or thoroughness. Our legal team uses technology to automate routine tasks, allowing us to dedicate more time to the complex, strategic issues that require human insight. By optimising efficiency, we can focus on areas where we can truly add value, such as navigating new markets, helping the business scale or mitigating high-stakes risks.
By aligning ourselves closely with the business, adopting a proactive approach to problem-solving and leveraging technology to increase efficiency, we’re able to add more value in less time. The result is a faster, more agile business that can respond to opportunities and challenges with confidence, knowing that the legal team is in their corner, helping to drive success.
Craig G. Lawrence is Group Chief Legal Officer for Ignition Group.
