Since the summer of 2021, we have been seeing a few advertisements that do not correspond to the reality of the job. And it's normal, the function is in full emergence!

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So obviously, the scope of Legal Operations from one company to another will differ. And that doesn't mean that one or the other team isn't doing it the right way.

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How to write a Legal Ops job description? How to describe this position in a synthetic way? What skills are required? What are the missions?

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Whether you are a Manager or Director of Legal Affairs, HR or a headhunter in a recruitment firm, here is a legal ops job description template that will help you find your candidates more easily.

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Brief description of the Legal Ops job

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The objective of the summary description is to give a global vision of the position in a few characters and a few seconds. It is therefore essential that it be carefully crafted so as to make you want to read the rest of your Legal Ops job description !

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Here are some sample job descriptions for the following positions:

• Legal Operations Manager
• Legal Operations Specialist
• Legal Operations Intern

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Legal Operations Manager

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In this strategic and operational role, you will define and implement a sharp vision of Legal Operations within the Legal Department but also within the company.

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You will develop and implement the Legal Department's roadmap in line with the objectives and priorities of the company and the other divisions making up the legal team.

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Reporting to the Director, General Counsel, you will collaborate with the Legal Managers to drive, monitor and report on progress while obtaining multi-stakeholder consensus when dealing with cross-functional issues.

You will keep abreast of the latest developments and trends in the legaltech sector and participate in the influence of the Legal Department both internally and externally.

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Source: Legal Ops Commission

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Legal Operations Specialist

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In this strategic and operational role, you will be fully involved in the implementation of a sharp vision of Legal Operations within the Legal Department but also within the company.

You will implement the Legal Department's roadmap in line with the objectives and priorities of the company and the other divisions making up the legal team.

Reporting to the Legal Operations Manager, you will collaborate with members of the Legal Operations team to drive, monitor and report progress on your scope while collaborating with multiple stakeholders when dealing with cross-functional issues.

You will keep abreast of the latest developments and trends in the legaltech sector and participate in the dissemination of a legal culture aligned with the company's strategy.

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Source: Legal Ops Commission

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Legal Operations Intern / Student

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Within the Legal Department, in full transformation, join a dynamic and innovative team in order to simplify the daily life of employees and help them refocus on their work with higher added value, by all means: templates, tools, training, communication, etc.

The challenge is to enable legal team members to save time and improve performance, and internal clients to gain autonomy and legal culture by creating a more accessible legal service offering.

This is an opportunity to gain experience in the emerging field of Legal Operations within the Legal Departments in France. You will work transversally with all the collaborators of the Legal Department, our internal clients and will also be in contact with external providers.

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Source : Internship offer within the Legal Operations team of the Renault Group

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Characteristics of the Legal Ops position

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Legal Operations Manager

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Reporting to: The Legal Director (local or global, depending on the type of company and its specificities).

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Primary Objective: Provide support in defining and implementing the strategy of the Legal, Compliance and Ethics Department.

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Prerequisites: Master's degree in law, 5 to 10 years of experience in a company & knowledge and mastery of the challenges of a legal department

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Education: Good knowledge in various fields, acquired in a self-taught way or by a diploma

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‍Domainsin question: communication, legal design, excel mastery, analysis of advanced financial elements, project management, agile mode mastery, change management mastery, etc...

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Salary: The salary of the Legal Ops Manager varies according to the structures and their grids. It can be indexed to the salary of a senior lawyer or a deputy legal director in large groups. If you have a range or an exact amount, do not hesitate to indicate it. Many potential recruits will miss out on your offer due to a lack of transparency on this subject.

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Legal Operations Specialist

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Reporting line: Under the direct responsibility of the Legal Operations Manager / Legal Operations Officer or Head of Legal Operations (local or global, depending on the type of company and its specificities).

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Primary Objective: Implements the strategy of the Legal, Compliance and Ethics department to simplify the day-to-day work of the legal team and internal clients brought in to work with them.

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Prerequisites: Master's degree in Law, 5 years of experience in a company & knowledge and mastery of the challenges of a legal department

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Training: Good knowledge in various fields, acquired in a self-taught way or by a diploma.

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Fields in question: communication, legal design, excel mastery, analysis of specific financial elements, project management, agile mode mastery, change management, etc...

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Salary: The salary of the Legal Ops Manager varies according to the structures and their grids. It can be indexed to the salary of a senior lawyer or a deputy legal director in large groups. If you have a range or an exact amount, do not hesitate to indicate it. Many potential recruits will miss out on your offer due to a lack of transparency on this subject.

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Legal Operations Intern / Student

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Reporting to the Legal Operations Manager or Legal Operations Specialist (local or global, depending on the type of company and its specificities).

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Main objective: He/she supports the Legal Operations team on a specific field or on several subjects (Swiss Army knife profile) according to the company's needs.

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Prerequisite: He/she supports the Legal Operations team on a specific field or on several subjects (Swiss Army knife profile) according to the company's needs.

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Education : Having followed a legal training or a double degree in law-business, law-marketing, law-finance etc...

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Salary: The remuneration of the intern or the trainee integrated into the Legal Ops team varies according to the structures and their grids. It can be indexed to the salary of an intern or a student attached to the Legal Department on purely legal missions. If you have a range or an exact amount, do not hesitate to indicate it. Many potential recruits will miss out on your offer due to a lack of transparency on this subject.

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Skills

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You are not born a Legal Ops, you become one. And while waiting for an academic training to be created in the next 5-10 years, we will not be trained at the university to become Legal Ops, we will become it by ourselves. Through experience, through self-taught knowledge acquisition, through curiosity.

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Thus, we become Legal Ops by acquiring a series of skills, soft and hard skills that promote our ability to succeed in carrying out the missions that make the daily life of a Legal Operations Manager, Specialist, etc... But what are the skills of the perfect Legal Ops, you would say?

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Our approach is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but can help you build a picture of key competencies. In fact, if they are missing, do not hesitate to suggest them to us so that we can discuss them.

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In any case, here are the 4 categories of competences established by the Legal Ops Commission of the AFJE.

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🚩 State of mind : Innovative / Efficient "Doer" / Positive / Dynalic / Autonomous / Open-minded / Empathetic / Flexible and agile / Creative and structured / Visionary / Determined

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🚩 Strengths: Lead and support change / Empathy, emotional intelligence / Teamwork, collaboration, ability to receive feedback / Interact at all levels of the company (horizontal and vertical) / Adapt your communication according to the interlocutors / Leadership, influence / Transversal management

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🚩Interpersonal skills:

Leading and accompanying change / Empathy, emotional intelligence / Teamwork, collaboration, ability to receive feedback / Interacting at all levels of the company (horizontal and vertical) / Adapting communication to different people / Leadership, influence / Transversal management

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🚩 Technical Skills:

Excellent written and oral communication / Project management / Knowledge of the legaltech ecosystem, of the software environment supporting the Directorates Juridiques▪️Assurer the Legal Department's internal outreach / externe▪️Gestion priorities according to the Legal Department's needs / Clients internes▪️ Mastery of basic office tools ▪️ Knowledge or mastery of clear legal language and legal design▪️ Ability to provide training ▪️ Knowledge or mastery of departmental budget management

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Main missions

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What will my assignments be? This is the first question your candidates will ask themselves.

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For a long time synonymous with "making a living" and necessity, for some of your employees and future recruits, work no longer has the same meaning. We no longer work only to generate an income that will allow us to live our second life, our personal life. This notion of a double life is progressively evaporating to make way for the quest for meaning at work, for the fusion of professional and personal fulfillment.

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🔍 A few figures to back up what we're saying: Employees' concerns have particularly evolved over the last ten years.87% of employees attach importance to meaning at work according to a 2017 Deloitte and Viadeo study.

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Why are we bringing up this topic now, right now, when we are simply talking about the main missions of a legal ops job description? Quite simply because work has become a true expression of oneself, and this includes finding oneself in what occupies us all day. And that's where the main tasks play a crucial role.

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So beyond these examples of main missions listed, it will be up to you to put relief, meaning and context in this series of missions. What is the mission of your company? Talk about your team! Highlight feedback from current and former employees, in short, don't limit yourself to the main missions.

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• Ensure the management and monitoring of the department's budget (internal and external)

• Ensure the optimization of the organization of the Legal Department: processes, workflows, legal project management

• Ensure the management of human resources

• Ensure the knowledge management of the Legal Department

• Inspire and create the appropriate contact points for the dissemination of the legal culture in the company

• Drafting, simplifying and streamlining processes as well as selecting and implementing the digital tools necessary for the proper functioning of the legal department and transverse issues

• Coordinate and implement the Legal Department's internal communication with the legal team, its internal clients and externally (legal community, regulators, ecosystem etc.)

• Leading the change management associated with these initiatives

• Determine and monitor relevant KPIs, adapted and aligned to the operations of the Legal Department and the company's strategy

• Coordinate and monitor relations with the Legal Department's network of service providers (law firms, experts, software publishers, etc.)

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👋 Disclaimer: This is a non-exhaustive list that we invite you to customize on your legal ops job description according to the specific challenges of your Legal Department and your company. Again, we are not a recruitment agency but we are always happy to exchange with the Legal Ops community. Tell us about your problem, your challenges, let's talk about it!

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