"You can’t manage what you don’t measure." 
That was the pointed observation from a General Counsel (GC) during a recent discussion on the role of data in legal departments. It’s a sentiment that increasingly resonates - and in today’s AI-enabled business environment, it’s more relevant than ever. 

Legal teams are under pressure to operate with greater agility, transparency, and strategic alignment. And while experience and precedent remain foundational, for GCs looking to future-proof their departments and optimise AI applications, data fluency is no longer optional - it’s essential. 

Legal's New Mandate: From Reactive to Strategic 

Legal has traditionally leaned on judgment, precedent, and narrative. While these remain critical, they don’t scale. Nor do they integrate easily with AI systems and workflows that require structured inputs to generate meaningful outputs. 

The digital transformation of business is no longer a future trend - it’s the present reality. Technology, distributed teams, and rising expectations around ROI and responsiveness have reshaped how legal departments operate. GCs are now expected to deliver measurable value and align with enterprise systems and strategy. Optimising AI into workflows and understanding its use cases and limitations is also fast becoming a high priority. 

To do this, they need structured, high-quality data. Without it, AI tools are underutilised, insights are shallow, and decisions are reactive. 

The Opportunity: Moving from Qualitative to Quantitative 

Legal teams generally have good qualitative data. However, the value and opportunity is capturing the quantitative data. With this, a data-fluent legal department can: 

• Speak the language of the business - with KPIs, dashboards, and performance metrics 

• Quantify its contribution - just like sales, marketing, or finance 

• Justify investment - with evidence-based forecasts and ROI models 

• Accelerate decision-making - with real-time insights 

• Predict and manage risk - using historical patterns and AI-powered analytics 

• Optimise AI tools - by providing the structured data they need to deliver value
  

Why Data Enables Better Use of AI 

AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on or fed. For legal teams, this means: 

• Contract Analytics - AI can extract and analyse clause-level data, but only if contracts are digitised and tagged. 

• Spend Optimisation - AI can benchmark external counsel performance, but only if spend and outcome data are tracked. 

• Risk Prediction - AI can forecast litigation outcomes, but only if historical case data is available and structured. 

• Workflow Automation - AI can triage legal requests, but only if request types, volumes, and response times are measured. 

Without data, AI is just potential. With data, it becomes performance.

What Data and Metrics should you track? 

Here are high-impact areas where data can drive transformation: 

• Work Type & Origin 

• Strategic vs. operational workload 

• Source of legal requests (business unit, geography, etc.) 

• Contracting Process 

• Time to close 

• Legal turnaround time 

• Clause-level negotiation frequency 

• Value and risk exposure (e.g., indemnities, liability caps) 

• ALSP vs External Counsel Spend 

• Cost vs. value delivered 

• Response times and outcomes 

• Allocation strategy (what stays in-house vs. ALSP vs. external counsel) 

• Litigation & IP Management 

• Case outcomes and trends 

• Portfolio performance and renewal cycles 

• Team Performance & Satisfaction 

• Internal client feedback (1–5 scale or NPS-style) 

• Work allocation and utilisation 

• Burnout indicators and engagement metrics 

Getting Started: Mindset, Metrics, and Momentum 

Begin with the basics: 

• Define your objectives: What insight are you seeking? What decisions will it inform? 

• Identify the data: What exists already? Which metrics align with business goals and legal priorities? 

• Start small: Use existing systems, spreadsheets or manual records; quality matters more than quantity to begin with. 

• Engage your team: Change management is key. Explain the 'why' and ensure buy-in by linking data to impact. 

• Explore AI: Start with tools that automate data capture or surface insights. Expand into analytics and workflow automation as your data maturity grows. 

Final Thought: Data Fluency is the New Legal Literacy 

In an increasingly AI-driven business environment, legal departments must evolve. Data is no longer a business team only concern -  it’s the foundation for intelligent, scalable, and strategic legal operations and decision-making. 

If you haven’t started this journey yet, make it a priority. Begin with small steps. Test, learn, iterate and build momentum. The legal function of the future will be defined not just by legal acumen - but by its ability to measure, manage, and lead with data - and to unlock the full potential of people and technology.