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Ask Emily: How Do I Convince My Boss to Buy Legal Technology?

August 28, 2019 2 min read

Emily See, Legal Operations Manager at Procore, is Ironclad’s resident advice columnist for Legal Matters, Ironclad’s monthly newsletter.

Dear Emily,

I have found a solution to streamline our legal operations, like contract and project management. However, my boss doesn’t understand the value of such software. What are some tactics I can use to make the case? For example, should I start tracking time spent on our current process?

Thanks for your help,

Maya, contracts manager at a hardware company

Dear Maya,

Tracking your time can definitely help you make the case, but don’t stop there.

Record what matters

I know some of you are still recovering from recording everything in your life in six-minute increments, but before you start panicking, hear me out. You don’t need to track everything. Tracking your time is just like any other metric you might use: You should think strategically about what data you need, rather than trying to get all the data. For example, if you’re trying to build a business case for new contract management software, track how much time you spend on contract management tasks that you want to streamline.

Use data to tell your story

Other metrics you’ll want to collect include your average turnaround times, the current volume of contracts you’re handling, and how those figures have changed over time. The software company might even be able to provide you with some data you can use to benchmark where your company stands compared to your peers. Extrapolate what growth you anticipate in the future. Combine that figure with the data on how long you’re spending doing particular tasks for each contract. Put a dollar value on it by calculating your hourly rate.

Discover what matters to stakeholders

You might discover the cost of the software is similar to (or, maybe even cheaper) than the cost of your current process. Even if you don’t you can still use this information to help make your case. What are some of your department’s current pain points? Would freeing up extra time in your day help you better address them? Also think about what initiatives your boss cares about, department goals, and even company-wide OKRs. Can you use the extra time to drive some of these initiatives?

The more holistic a story you can tell about where you want to go and how this tool can get you there, the better chance you have at convincing your boss it’s the right choice.

Have a burning question about legal ops for Emily? Email community@ironcladapp.com.

About Emily

Emily grew up on a very rustic property in the mountains of Southern California before running off to Boston for school. She realized California wasn’t all that bad, so she returned as soon as she could. She will always have a place in her heart for hiking, vintage cardigan sweaters, raising chickens, and unreliable Italian automobiles. Emily spent 15 years as an editor before realizing she loved contracts more than anything in the world.

About Procore

Procore is a leading provider of cloud-based applications for construction. Procore connects people, applications, and devices through a unified platform to help construction professionals manage risk and build quality projects—safely, on time, and within budget. Procore has a diversified business model with products for Project Management, Construction Financials, Quality & Safety, and Field Productivity. Headquartered in Carpinteria, California, with offices around the globe, Procore is used to manage billions of dollars in annual construction volume.

Vera Devera

Vera Devera is Ironclad’s Community Builder. She is passionate about creating extraordinary, one-of-kind experiences, and loves working with legal teams. Learn more about Vera’s work by visiting Ironclad’s Community Page.

More about Ironclad

Ironclad is the leading digital contracting platform for legal teams. By streamlining contract workflows, from creation and approvals to compliance and insights, Ironclad frees legal to be the strategic advisors they’re meant to be. Ironclad is used by modern General Counsels and their teams at companies like Dropbox, AppDynamics and Fitbit to unlock the power of their contracts data. Ironclad was named one of the 20 Rising Stars as part of the Forbes 2019 Cloud 100 list, the definitive list of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world. The company is backed by investors like Accel, Sequoia, Y Combinator and Emergence Capital. To learn more, visit our homepage.