Host: Janessa Nelson

Guest: Kunoor Chopra

This episode of CLOC Talk features Janessa Nelson in conversation with Kunoor Chopra, exploring how legal departments can rethink the business of law through smarter use of technology, data, and global resources. The discussion highlights the shift from traditional, reactive legal models to more intentional, design-driven approaches that prioritize efficiency, scalability, and strategic impact. Chopra shares practical insights on right-sourcing work, leveraging alternative legal service providers, and integrating technology in ways that actually solve business problems—not just signal innovation. The conversation also emphasizes the human side of transformation, focusing on enabling legal professionals to spend more time on high-value work while reducing administrative burden. As Corporate Legal Operations Consortium Global Institute approaches, the episode leaves listeners with actionable guidance on where to start, how to build momentum, and why now is a pivotal moment for legal operations evolution.

Hi everyone.

2

Welcome to Clock Talk, where we

explore the ideas and innovations

3

shaping the future of legal operations.

4

I'm Janessa Nelson, and today I am

joined by Canoe Chopra who advises

5

organizations on how to rethink the

business of law through smarter use

6

of technology and global resources.

7

With CGI, just around the corner, this

conversation is all about the practical

8

ways to modernize your legal department.

9

So let's start with some perspective.

10

When you say that you help clients

with the business of law, what

11

does that actually look like?

12

Kunoor Chopra: I know that's

such an amorphous term.

13

Maybe just give a little background

on myself kind of as we kind of get

14

there so you understand the context

for why we built Elevate and so forth.

15

So I'm an attorney by background and

practiced for five years as a litigator.

16

In big law, and I saw a lot of

inefficiencies in the system.

17

So I decided to start a company a little

over 20 years ago, which was one of

18

the pioneering companies in the space

to really bring efficiency to legal.

19

So fast forward to today, I am one of

the co-founders at Elevate and built

20

the legal services side of our business.

21

So when we built Elevate,

the vision really was to give

22

clients practical ways to improve

efficiency, quality, and outcomes.

23

Both for law departments and law

firms, and that's where this idea

24

of the business of law came from.

25

At its core, the business of law is

about integrated service delivery.

26

It's the application of operations,

technology, data, and process design

27

to deliver legal services in a way

that's more efficient, more predictable,

28

and ultimately more strategic.

29

What that really means in practice

is shifting legal from something

30

that's reactive to something

that's intentionally designed.

31

Historically legal has been very

artisanal, highly skilled, but

32

often inconsistent, expensive

and difficult to scale.

33

The business of law is

about changing that.

34

It's about designing workflows

the same way you would in

35

any other business function.

36

Making decisions based on data

instead of instinct, and creating

37

clarity around what work should

be done, where by whom, and why.

38

It's also important to say this

isn't just about efficiency.

39

It's actually very human lawyers

want to do meaningful, high value

40

work, and they don't wanna be buried

in process or administrative tasks.

41

So a big part of this is creating

the space for legal professionals

42

to operate at their highest value.

43

To do that, you really have to move away

from the traditional one size fits all

44

model of legal service delivery as we know

it, big law firms only, and that's where

45

legal ops plays such a critical role.

46

It's the bridge that connects all of this.

47

It brings together the strategy, the

process, the technology, and the people

48

to actually make it work in practice.

49

Janessa Nelson: So that's really

interesting because you started as

50

a attorney and then you sort of.

51

Entered into this legal operations

and legal innovation space.

52

And so you've sort of seen

the full trajectory, right?

53

So based off of your experience

working hard in the trenches day

54

after day and then you know, now

working to elevate, what are you

55

seeing right now that's pushing legal

departments to rethink how they operate?

56

Kunoor Chopra: It may sound cliche, but

the reality is companies are under more

57

pressure than ever to do more with less.

58

I was at a client offsite not

too long ago, and they shared a

59

stat that really stuck with me.

60

Their business was growing at around

60%, but their legal spend was growing

61

closer to 90%, and the message from

their leadership was very clear

62

that this is just not sustainable.

63

But I think what's important is

it's not just about cost, it's

64

really about complexity as well.

65

Legal teams today are dealing with more

jurisdictions, faster deal cycles, and

66

increasing regulatory scrutiny at the

same time, headcount isn't scaling at

67

the same pace, expectations are rising,

and there's a much greater focus on

68

cost, predictability, and control.

69

So the real question becomes how do you

keep up with all of that without burning

70

out your team or breaking the system?

71

Janessa Nelson: And I feel like

that's definitely a message that.

72

Everyone is feeling right now,

like how can we do more with less?

73

Which is such a hard conversation

to have, and everyone's trying

74

to figure out how to do that.

75

So this sort of leads us a

little bit into alternative

76

ways to deliver legal services.

77

So how do we do more with less?

78

What are the most effective

models you are seeing?

79

Kunoor Chopra: Just going back to

that, that summit, it was, you know,

80

in a law firm and this time this

customer included a LSPs because

81

they know that the conversation has

to shift because they know there's

82

so much work that has to be done.

83

So they were actually encouraging

their law firms to work with a LSPs

84

and law companies to help them help

the end customer and bring efficiency.

85

And they're even rewarding their law

firms for that type of innovation.

86

So yeah, definitely a lot

of conversation around this.

87

And what I say is that.

88

The most effective model isn't one model.

89

It's really about an intentional

combination of models.

90

So the legal ecosystem as we're talking

about, is more than just law firms.

91

You have a mix of law firms of all sizes.

92

You have law companies or a LSPs,

and I don't know if we defined

93

it here, but alternative legal

service providers probably good.

94

Yeah, that acronym has changed

a lot over the last two decades.

95

Consulting firms, technology providers,

and they all play different roles.

96

For example, within law firms, you might

have small, midsize, or large law firms,

97

and each handling different types of work.

98

You have some niche providers who

may just focus on IP or employment

99

or high stakes litigation.

100

Then you have a LSPs or

law companies, right?

101

And they also look very different.

102

Some are very focused and may specialize

in e-discovery or docker view in

103

contracts in flexible resourcing.

104

And then there's others like Elevate,

who actually operate more broadly across

105

the spectrum of enterprise solutions.

106

So really addressing litigation

and contracts, m and a compliance,

107

IP entity management, legal ops,

and then delivering those services

108

through a few different models.

109

You have managed services where the

provider is responsible for the outcomes.

110

You have flexible resourcing or

interim talent where we're providing

111

people that are then supervised by

the law firm or the law department.

112

And then we actually Elevate

has an integrated law firm.

113

So now you can actually have an

A LSP with a law firm, and that

114

really changes the dynamic around

the type of work that can be done.

115

So really then bringing efficiency to.

116

Portfolios of work.

117

So it could be project based

or full portfolios of work.

118

And then if you kind of look at other

parts of the ecosystem, then you have

119

technology companies as well, right?

120

And they have a role to play as

we're seeing today with tech and ai.

121

And they are generally more niche.

122

So they'll focus on, maybe

it's contracts, maybe it's

123

testimony, maybe it's e-discovery.

124

So when you put it all together, now

you have a lot of different players

125

who can come together to provide an

optimized model of legal service delivery.

126

Janessa Nelson: Yeah, to be very

candid, we use alternative legal

127

service providers, a LSPs, very

sporadically, mostly for like

128

staffing support if someone's going

off on maternity or paternity leave.

129

But we're really still relying heavily

on traditional outside counsel, and

130

I know that's the case for a lot

of legal departments all across the

131

country and also internationally.

132

Right.

133

So.

134

What would your advice be to

somebody as they start to explore

135

this sort of world of a LSPs?

136

Kunoor Chopra: Yeah.

137

Most companies or many companies,

you know, still work with.

138

Law firms and they will, they, they

will always be a part of the portfolio.

139

But how do you then look at recalibrating

that work to kind of the right resources?

140

And so I said there's

like two ways to start.

141

So the first is maybe

you start with a pilot.

142

You pick a specific area that's high

volume, repeatable, and where you,

143

you're likely to see an immediate impact.

144

We actually saw this before, if you

looked at eDiscovery and document

145

review, those were some of the first

areas to be unbundled, say a couple

146

decades ago from traditional law firms.

147

'cause you had technology and you had

providers who could do it a lot better.

148

So that work shifted from being

done within a law firm to being

149

done at external providers.

150

And so I think the same opportunity

exists today across other areas.

151

So kind of when you're thinking of

that pilot, if you're a litigation

152

heavy company, look at things

like discovery more broadly.

153

How is that being done?

154

How is testimony related work

being done or pleading, drafting,

155

or legal research when you really

break down the spend in those areas?

156

There's a significant opportunity

to right source and optimize.

157

The second approach is a bit more

strategic, which is to step back

158

and assess your overall legal spend.

159

What many organizations find is that

as they've grown, a large portion of

160

their budget is tied up in recurring

and routine work, but they're still

161

being handled by the highest cost

outside counsel because that's kind

162

of who they grew up with, right?

163

So the exercise becomes mapping

that work based on value, risk, and

164

complexity, and you'll typically

see three categories emerge.

165

So maybe high risk, high value work

that's just stay with your internal

166

teams or go to outside counsel.

167

Repeatable process driven work can be

shifted to managed services or a LSPs.

168

And then there's some work.

169

And what we're seeing with some

companies now is they have a big

170

spend in certain buckets of work, but

it's not that bet the company work.

171

So they're saying, well, instead of

paying outside counsel rates, let's

172

move to a flexible resourcing model.

173

So they may also engage with a LSPs

who can provide interim staffing.

174

For certain roles, like, you know, co

commercial related roles or privacy.

175

And then the next step

might be managed services.

176

So, you know, it's kind

of baby steps, right?

177

So they have to go with what's

comfortable, but not everything

178

has to be done at the law firm.

179

And there's models and approaches

to get that work properly

180

calibrated to the right resources.

181

Janessa Nelson: That sounds

all great, but what impact are

182

you actually seeing with this?

183

A lot of people want, you know, saving

from money, they want more efficiency.

184

So what are we actually

seeing in real life?

185

Kunoor Chopra: Absolutely.

186

And look, the impact can be pretty

significant and it goes well beyond cost.

187

Yes, there's cost savings, but what I've

seen is that it actually transforms.

188

The overall experience for lawyers,

it means they're less overwhelmed.

189

They're more focused on the

work that really matters.

190

They're not buried in repetitive

or administrative tasks.

191

They're able to operate at a

higher level for the business.

192

It shows up as faster turnaround

times, more consistency

193

and better predictability.

194

And then of course, the cost

benefits flow naturally.

195

Depending on how you approach it,

organizations can save anywhere from

196

20 to 25% on their overall spend

through smarter resourcing alone.

197

Absolutely.

198

Like flexible talent models can drive

additional efficiencies and when you

199

start leveraging a LSPs that have law

firms, that's even more significant.

200

I'll give you an example.

201

There was a company who was looking

to have deposition designations

202

done and their AM law 100.

203

Outside counsel had budgeted

$250,000 for this work.

204

So the AM L 100 firm was introduced

to a testimony intelligence

205

tool called cloud court.

206

They used this tool as well as some right

source resources to operate the tool.

207

And the work that was initially budgeted

for $250,000 was done for $25,000.

208

Combining cloud court and

this right source team.

209

Yes, the law firm made less money.

210

The customer was so thrilled that

now they give, you know, larger

211

portfolio work to the firm.

212

So it's firms that are gonna be a

little bit more proactive and see

213

that opportunity, who will want to use

technology and right sourcing in that way.

214

Not all law firms are there yet,

but that's an example of some

215

of the opportunity that exists.

216

Janessa Nelson: I feel like this is a

conversation that's starting to happen

217

around law firms as well, where they

have to be competitive and hungry, so.

218

Thinking about this from a sort of

building relationship standpoint

219

of if we're able to save.

220

Our client money, in the short

term, we might be able to make

221

more money because they trust us

and they wanna give us more work.

222

So I think that has to be

a part of the conversation

223

Kunoor Chopra: and that's the

conversation we're having with law firms.

224

And some get it and some don't.

225

And again, the traditional model

is built on the billable hour.

226

So you can see the tension between let's

use technology to improve efficiency

227

and let's continue to bill hours.

228

And I don't necessarily, and

this is probably going a whole

229

different direction, but yeah.

230

Yeah, I'll just comment on it.

231

Is that.

232

I don't believe that AI and

technology with where it is

233

necessarily means just reducing hours.

234

I think it helps you to do things

that you were never able to do before.

235

It's giving you data in a way you never

had before, and now you can actually

236

spend the time not looking for the data.

237

But now what are the insights I can

uncover and how's that gonna help

238

me prepare my witnesses better?

239

Or how is that gonna

gimme a leg up in trial?

240

So there's a lot more that can be done

with technology, with where it is today.

241

Janessa Nelson: Let's actually

follow that thread a little bit

242

further, but let's shift it to what

you are seeing from legal operations

243

professionals in legal departments.

244

So how are they sort of using

technology more efficiently in their

245

sort of day-to-day work that you're

seeing sort of across our industry

246

Kunoor Chopra: technology, right?

247

There's so much going on in that

space and like you said, you

248

know, how is it actually being

used and how effective can it be?

249

I wanna take a step back for a second.

250

Before we started building Elevate, I

remember having a conversation with Liam

251

Brown, who's our founder, about what he

was gonna do next in the legal space.

252

He had left his prior company.

253

I was looking at making a move,

and at that time there were already

254

companies operating in our space.

255

So when I met him, he said, Hey, I'm gonna

build another legal services company.

256

And I was surprised because I said,

well, look, you built a company.

257

I sold my company to a competitor.

258

Why would you do that?

259

And what we realized during that

conversation was that technology and

260

data had reached a point where we

could fundamentally rethink how legal

261

services are gonna be delivered.

262

And that was the beginning of what we

now think of as modern legal operations.

263

So think e-billing, invoice review,

e-signature contract automation.

264

Right.

265

What we've seen, I'd say for

the past decade or so, where we

266

are today feels like the next

version of that, call it 3.0.

267

Right.

268

The capabilities, especially

with AI, are incredibly powerful.

269

But they're also creating a lot of noise.

270

So for me, the effective use of

technology comes down to a few things.

271

First, it's not about buying tools, it's

about solving problems, and the starting

272

point shouldn't be what tech do we need?

273

And I hear that so often.

274

It should be about what

are we trying to fix.

275

Second, I think technology only

works if it's paired with workflow

276

design and process improvement.

277

If you don't rethink how the work

is going to be done, you're just

278

layering tech on top of inefficiency.

279

And third, it's about using data

to drive better business decisions.

280

The example I gave before, now

you have data at your fingertips.

281

What are we gonna do with that?

282

How is that going to help our outcomes?

283

Whether you're talking about m

and a litigation or contracts,

284

I'll give you an example.

285

We've seen clients where a significant

portion of the litigation spend,

286

sometimes the majority is tied

up in testimony related work,

287

and it's often done manually.

288

So when you introduce purpose-built

technology like platforms like

289

Cloud Cord, which I mentioned, you

can instantly access and analyze

290

the testimony data across matters.

291

So that's gonna reduce the cost of

doing the work, and as I shared,

292

give you these insights that can

improve strategy, whether that's

293

in depos trials or in settlement.

294

So the value isn't just automation

as better decision making.

295

Janessa Nelson: And I think data

cleanliness and sort of data integrity

296

is definitely something that a lot of

legal operations professionals don't

297

necessarily have experience in, but is

so critical to actually utilizing these

298

tools to, it's like optimal reviews.

299

I'm always one who encourages people.

300

I mean, I have rarely worked

for startups in legal ops, so

301

I don't have a big tech budget.

302

I've had to be really, really mindful

of what I'm actually buying, but you can

303

be creative in, in utilizing things that

you already have access to and trying to

304

sort of learn and sort of utilize things

up until you actually feel comfortable

305

can transition into buying something.

306

Right?

307

Kunoor Chopra: Absolutely, 100%.

308

I mean, data cleanliness is a big topic

right now because again, technology

309

is only gonna be as good as the

information that is pointed towards.

310

Janessa Nelson: Yeah.

311

Yeah.

312

All of these things aside.

313

Right.

314

What's like the number one mistake

you see organizations make when

315

they're adopting legal tech?

316

Kunoor Chopra: Yeah.

317

I think one of the biggest mistakes

I continue to see in organizations

318

buying techs is, mm-hmm.

319

There's buying tech to signal progress

and not to actually create it.

320

And it usually starts

with the wrong question.

321

So again, instead of asking what problem

are we trying to solve, they're asking,

322

what's the latest tool we should be using?

323

You're seeing that a

lot right now with ai.

324

There's a belief that one enterprise

or frontier tool is gonna solve

325

everything, but the reality

is legal work is very nuanced.

326

Again, if you're a litigation heavy

organization, for example, a general

327

purpose AI tool may not meaningfully help

you with things like discovery responses

328

or managing high volumes of testimony.

329

Those areas you would need a

more fit for purpose solution.

330

What ends up happening is you get this

mismatch of, you know, you're trying

331

to put a round peg in a square hole.

332

And so we're often having this

conversation is we have bought this ai.

333

Think of whatever kind of the

enterprise solution of the day is.

334

They're saying, now that we have this

technology, how do we solve this problem?

335

And I think that is the

biggest mistake, really.

336

You have to identify the problem and

figure out the best people, process

337

and technology, all of it, right?

338

How to address that specific challenge.

339

Janessa Nelson: How can teams

make technology more practical

340

and usable day to day?

341

Kunoor Chopra: Yeah.

342

I think the key is to making technology

feel real and relevant to the work

343

that people are doing every day.

344

So it starts with anchoring

everything in actual use cases.

345

The question should always be,

what problem did this solve today?

346

And if you can't answer that, it's

probably not landing the way it needs to.

347

The second piece is showing, not telling.

348

So at Elevate, we had a meeting yesterday

and we have weekly meetings where we

349

have someone show up and say, Hey,

this is how we use technology today.

350

And we have an automation

agent called Elma.

351

So yesterday's conversation

was on how did the IP group.

352

Use Alma to improve the patent support

that they're providing to their customers.

353

And so we mimic that every week with

what do we do on the litigation or

354

discovery or contract side, right?

355

So it's how are we using

it and sharing that.

356

And then people get excited about,

and they're like, oh wait, let me come

357

with an example of what I'm doing.

358

And again, you have to keep it simple.

359

What I really liked is

another conversation I had

360

this week with a customer.

361

It was a customer that I was talking

about that has a huge drive towards

362

efficiency because of their big budget.

363

And there were a lot of firms and A

LSP supporting a lot of workflows.

364

And what they said was, Hey, law firm,

hey, A LSP, pick one workflow where you're

365

going to right source, where you're gonna

automate, you're gonna bring AI and show a

366

15% cost savings through this combination.

367

And instead of saying, Hey, let's

boil the ocean and you need to do

368

it across everything, let's pick

one area, let's have success.

369

And then that's gonna drive

change in other workflows.

370

That's gonna drive improvement

in other workflows.

371

Janessa Nelson: Wow, that's

actually so impressive.

372

That's a really interesting

conversation to have with

373

your LLPs and outside counsel.

374

I think that also shows that they

have a very dynamic and interactive

375

relationship with their outside counsel,

which it's, you know, kudos to that.

376

That's incredible.

377

Kunoor Chopra: Yes, and I like the

way they approached it because they

378

tried to keep it really simple because

again, there's so much noise right now

379

in the system and people really get

paralyzed and don't know where to start.

380

So just start something simple.

381

Janessa Nelson: I mean that's also the

big thing for technology as well, right?

382

Like start simple.

383

My sort of philosophy is like we're

only going to move to the next step

384

if this is actually useful, right?

385

If the team's actually using

this, then it means that it's

386

worthwhile to continue developing.

387

So let's shift the conversation a

little bit to, you sort of talked about

388

right sizing and especially a lot of

companies are dealing with US based.

389

We're also expanding a lot

globally, especially with clock.

390

So let's talk about global resources.

391

What does that look like in

today's legal environment?

392

Kunoor Chopra: You know, I think

global resourcing is one of the biggest

393

opportunities in legal right now, which

is interesting because I started a

394

company over 20 years ago where I was

trying to bring efficiency to legal,

395

and it was about offshore resourcing.

396

It wasn't global.

397

And at back that time, you know,

efficiency meant labor arbitrage.

398

So again, kind of version 3.0,

399

now you know, we're operating in a

truly global environment with access

400

to incredible talent across regions.

401

And that's something we were very

intentional about when we built Elevate.

402

So we have teams across the us, emea,

uk, Asia Pac, and we're supporting

403

customers in a more in integrated way.

404

And I believe that, you know, global

teams are gonna bring a lot of value.

405

You get diverse perspectives, you get

around the clock momentum, and you're able

406

to support clients wherever they operate.

407

And it also gives you the ability to scale

more efficiently from a cost standpoint.

408

I think the key is how it's implemented

and when it works, it doesn't

409

feel like offshore versus onshore.

410

It should feel like one

seamless integrated team.

411

And honestly, I'm looking forward

to the day when we stop even framing

412

it as offshore global support.

413

Because if you think about it,

when was the last time a law firm.

414

Asked you, where would you

like this work to be done?

415

They give a scope of work and they do it.

416

Yeah.

417

Or think about even other organizations

or businesses you work with.

418

I look forward to the day we get

there and I also see the value in

419

sharing with folks that, hey, we're

using global talent and these are

420

some of the benefits we can bring to.

421

Janessa Nelson: That sort of brings up

the next question of if we're trying

422

not to think of them as offshore.

423

How do we sort of integrate those global

resources without disrupting the team and

424

making them seem like they are offshore?

425

Kunoor Chopra: Look, I think

integration of the team is really

426

about trust and not structure.

427

What makes global teams successful

isn't just how you organize

428

them, is how you treat them.

429

And the most effective teams

treat their global resources

430

as colleagues and not vendors.

431

They really feel like an

extension of the team.

432

I remember early on when we built

Elevate and even customers still our.

433

Teams have become such an

extension of their teams that

434

they can't even differentiate.

435

So they'll have an all hands meeting

or you know, their annual meetings

436

and they'll actually invite some

of their Elevate team members to

437

the meeting, and their colleagues

don't even realize that these folks

438

are not part of the customer team.

439

So it's through that type of trust

where these teams really feel cohesive.

440

Obviously there's a lot that we

did to kind of get there, right?

441

So some of the things you need to do is

just communication, making sure that you

442

have clear rhythms and regular check-ins,

because when you are dealing with teams

443

in a different time zone, how do we

make sure that there's some overlap in

444

timing so that we can all communicate?

445

Janessa Nelson: So you have to

446

Kunoor Chopra:

intentionally build that in.

447

And we have some customers

who actually need.

448

Individuals in one of our, you

know, global locations working US

449

hours, and we can do that as well.

450

And the other shared goals, again,

making folks feel like they're part of

451

the team and that they're contributing

in the same way to your outcomes.

452

They're not just operating

on the sidelines.

453

And we've seen where some relationships

are more successful versus others.

454

Where they kind of keep that arm's

length and hey, you're a vendor and

455

you're not gonna be necessarily in

the know of what's going on or why

456

you're doing what you're doing.

457

And then there's the

operational side, right?

458

So making sure there's clear

workflows, those are defined

459

work is triaged effectively.

460

You have defined SLAs around

turnaround time or within how long

461

should someone acknowledge an email?

462

I can't tell you how many

conversations I've had around that.

463

And then again, just strong

governance, having those.

464

Daily operational meetings,

monthly meetings to, you know,

465

make sure things are on track.

466

Quarterly meetings involving executives.

467

So that governance framework

is really important.

468

But if you can do that right, you

really get to that point of that

469

trusted relationship where these

resources really just start to become

470

and feel a part of your own team.

471

Janessa Nelson: I think a good

lesson for a lot of people who

472

are trying to sort of think about.

473

This conversation and trying

to sort of shift their mindset

474

to that more global focus.

475

Talking about global focus, CGI, which

is global is right around the corner.

476

So many of our listeners may be

thinking about how to take action

477

and how to sort of prepare for CGI.

478

What are a couple things that they should

walk away with from this conversation?

479

Kunoor Chopra: Well first

start before you feel ready.

480

Transformation doesn't begin with a

perfect plan, it begins with a decision.

481

So pick an area where you can make

things better, faster, clearer, more

482

efficient, and take the first step.

483

Momentum is what creates

transformation, and that's where

484

I think people just get paralyzed.

485

So it really just start.

486

The second is reimagine what legal can be.

487

This is such a unique moment where we're

not just optimizing the practice of law,

488

we're redesigning the business of law.

489

Organizations like Elevate have

been pushing this forward, but

490

now it's accessible to everyone.

491

Legal teams can be data driven,

tech enabled, and truly strategic

492

partners to the business.

493

So that's a mindset shift

and it's a powerful one.

494

And third, don't do it alone.

495

Bring people with you.

496

The most.

497

Successful transformations aren't

just smart, they're shared.

498

So have your internal stakeholders.

499

Bring your outside counsel.

500

Really partner with your providers

to help affect that change.

501

So, you know, as you're going into CGI,

you know, don't just look for answers.

502

Look for that inspiration.

503

Look for connection, and most

importantly, look for where

504

you're willing to take action.

505

Because the future of legal

isn't something we wait for,

506

it's something we build.

507

Janessa Nelson: Yeah, I'm learning a

lot even too from this conversation.

508

So I'm so happy that we were able to

get you to spend a little time with us.

509

So let's look ahead a little bit.

510

You've been in the industry

for many, many years.

511

And you've sort of been on some of the

forefront of legal operations as this

512

sort of evolved and changed over time.

513

So where do you see the biggest

opportunity for legal operations

514

over the next few years?

515

Kunoor Chopra: So over the last few years,

I've seen real maturity in what I'd call

516

the foundational areas of legal ops.

517

So, right, things like e-billing,

outside council management,

518

RFPs, even contracting.

519

And teams have made a lot of progress

here, but where I see the biggest

520

opportunity and what I get really excited

about going forward is expanding legal

521

ops into more substantive areas of work,

particularly litigation or ip, where

522

there's still a tremendous amount of spend

complexity and frankly, inefficiency.

523

So if you look at litigation, for

example, we've really only scratched the

524

surface E-discovery and document review

have seen innovation, but that's just

525

one slice of a much broader lifecycle.

526

So I see so much opportunity

within litigation to bring

527

structure, look at data.

528

Look at how litigation is

managed end to end and bring more

529

efficiencies there and insights.

530

Same with ip, portfolio

management, prosecution

531

workflows, enforcement strategy.

532

These are areas that are

still highly fragmented.

533

And so I see kind of

litigation ops or IP ops.

534

So I think the next evolution of legal ops

is really about moving closer to the core

535

of legal work, and not just supporting

it, but really shaping how it's delivered.

536

Janessa Nelson: Let's end with

what you're excited about.

537

What are you most excited about in this

moment for either legal ops or for CGI?

538

Kunoor Chopra: CGI, I am excited to see

people to check out the new programming

539

and I'm on the clock, social Inclusion

and Impact council, and so we have some

540

programming out there and meetups, so

look forward to those conversations.

541

And on the legal ops front, you know,

it's actually very personal for me.

542

So when I started my first

company 20 years ago, I really

543

believed we were on the edge of

transformation in the legal industry.

544

And in hindsight, we

really weren't there yet.

545

The vision was there, but the timing,

the tools, and even the appetite for

546

change, it just hadn't caught up.

547

What excites me now is that I

can actually feel the difference.

548

The conversations are different.

549

The expectations are different.

550

Legal teams are thinking differently

about their role, not just as

551

advisors, but as operators, as

strategic partners to the business.

552

And there's a lot of openness now to

technology, to new ways of working,

553

to rethinking longstanding models.

554

That just didn't exist before.

555

So for me it's exciting because this

is the moment I think many of us

556

have been working toward for a long

time, and now it's actually here.

557

And on a personal level, it's

meaningful to still be part of

558

that journey, not just watching the

change happen, but helping shape it

559

alongside so many others in this space.

560

So that's what makes this

moment feel different for me.

561

Janessa Nelson: Amazing.

562

I love that.

563

And I can't wait to see you at CGI.

564

It's gonna be so much fun.

565

Kunoor Chopra: Absolutely.

566

Janessa Nelson: Thank you so much

for coming and sharing your practical

567

insights of how legal teams can

rethink business of law through use

568

of technology and global resources.

569

As we head into CGI, this is exactly

the kind of thinking that we're

570

hoping will help legal operation

leaders drive meaningful change.

571

So all of our listeners, thank you for

joining us on Clock Talk and we can't

572

wait to see you for CGI for coming.