Ten Things to Look For When Choosing a Legal Platform

Legal platform technologies have proven invaluable for helping corporate legal departments adroitly navigate the ups and downs of the past year. Thanks to the flexibility, customization, unlimited scalability and limitless building opportunities they offer, no-code platforms have provided legal departments with the tools they need to innovate and adapt to meet change after change.

Perhaps you’ve already decided that a platform approach is right for your legal department. How do you know how to pick the right one?

What to Look for When Buying a Legal Platform

Here are ten things to consider when choosing a legal platform to meet the unique needs of your corporate legal department.

1. Enterprise-wide solution development

The ideal online platform will give you the ability to create all the solutions you need for day-to-day operations, both within your legal department and in any department across the organization, allowing for cross-collaboration between all departments.

2. Agile project management

The right platform will be able to adjust and evolve as your department’s and organization’s needs change. When considering a platform, make sure it continually releases updates, so you know you’re always incorporating the most up-to-date security standards and user feedback in the solutions you create.

3. No-code technology

You shouldn’t have to be a technology or coding expert to reap the benefits of an online platform. Many platforms today are no-code, bridging the gap between business and technical users. This makes it simple for anyone in the legal department to build new workflows, even if they have little or no technical training.

4. Quick realization of value

With any business change or new technology, the faster it can start creating value, the better. A legal platform that allows you to quickly build solutions from day one lets you start realizing value for your organization almost immediately.

5. AI and automation

The platform you choose should ideally incorporate the power of automation and artificial intelligence to eliminate time-consuming and costly manual legal processes. You’ll also benefit from continuous learning, which automatically examines and adjusts business process rules and workflows over time, even predicting necessary changes before they arise.

6. Third-party integration tools

While it’s critical that you’re able to build whatever solutions you need on your platform, it’s equally important that those solutions are able to connect to the other tools you use every day. The ideal platform will include a third-party integration tool that seamlessly moves data between all your systems and acts as a centralized hub for your operations.

7. Robust business intelligence tools and analytics

Today’s legal departments are sitting on more data than ever before. It’s time to make that data useful. Your platform should integrate robust business intelligence tools and analytics capabilities that empower you to leverage your data to make valuable, informed business and legal decisions that will benefit the entire organization.

8. A responsive user interface

For a long time, technology struggled to find a way to be suitable for viewing on all devices. Instead, what you saw varied depending on your screen size or resolution. Enter responsive user interfaces, which adjust your content according to the device that’s being used, so your users can always view the content as you intended it to be viewed.

9. An adaptive end-user experience

Adaptive platforms offer multiple layouts in order to provide the best possible experience for your end users. An adaptive platform will detect where your user is accessing it and automatically provide the most appropriate layout for that user’s situation, role, or activity.

10. Best-in-class partner programs

The best technology providers should be partnered with the best talent, resources, and experience in the industry. Your platform provider should give you access to a top-notch partner network where you can get whatever help you need with technology, implementation, or services in order to maximize your investment.

Onit’s legal platforms, business process automation platform Apptitude and AI-based business intelligence platform Precedent, help corporate legal departments adapt and innovate to meet whatever challenges arise. Contact us today to learn more about how a platform approach can benefit your corporate legal department.

For fmore information on how to choose the right platforms to benefit your corporate legal department, consider these resources:

• The Power of a Platform: Building Corporate Legal Influence Across the Enterprise
• Platforms for Corporate Legal Departments: What They Are and How They Expand Influence