What happens when legal operations can no longer keep up with the speed of the business? For many in-house legal teams, that question is becoming impossible to ignore. Lawyers are expected to do more, move faster, manage new risks, and adopt new technology at the same time. The challenge is not simply handling more legal matters. It is finding better ways to organize work, use information, and support the business without losing sound legal judgment.
In a recent conversation, Carolyn Herszog, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Elastic, shared insights on how legal teams can respond to this changing environment. Her perspective shows why legal operations is becoming an essential part of legal leadership and why technology should support better decisions rather than simply add another tool.
Watch the full conversation with Carolyn Herzog here:
Why Legal Operations Matters
Legal operations can help in-house counsel understand how work moves through the team, where time is spent, and what information leaders need. Herszog explains that legal operations can strengthen the technology stack and help teams work faster.
This matters because legal teams are expected to provide timely advice, clear risk information, and practical solutions. Without good processes, lawyers can spend too much time chasing information, repeating manual tasks, or responding to urgent requests.
Use Legal Operations and Technology With Purpose
The rise of generative AI makes this challenge more important. In-house counsel cannot simply ignore new technology or assume that banning it will solve the problem. As Herszog notes, the technology is already here, so legal teams need responsible use, clear boundaries, and practical evaluation.
Lower-risk work may benefit from automation and self-service, while higher-risk matters need human oversight and reliable information. This balance allows legal teams to gain speed without giving up judgment.
Before adopting any tool, legal teams should ask: what problem are we actually trying to solve? Technology should reduce friction, improve access to information, and give lawyers more time for work requiring judgment.
Learn From Other Legal Teams
Legal departments do not have to create every solution from scratch. Herszog emphasizes looking at what other teams are doing. Instead of turning to outside counsel for every operational question, legal leaders can learn from peers who have already tested new approaches.
Benchmarking can reveal better ways to organize intake, manage contracts, measure performance, or introduce technology. It can also help teams avoid spending months building something another department has already solved.
Asking what works elsewhere can challenge assumptions and open the door to improvements.
Build a More Adaptable Legal Team
The modern legal department needs more than good lawyers and software. It needs people willing to learn, question familiar processes, and adapt when circumstances change. AI, cybersecurity, regulation, and business priorities will continue to evolve.
That is where legal leadership and legal operations meet. Leaders need a clear direction, but they also need flexibility to change course when new information appears. Herszog’s closing advice is simple: be curious and ask for feedback. Those habits can help in-house legal professionals stay open to better ways of working.
The future of in-house counsel is not about replacing legal judgment with technology. It is about building systems that allow lawyers to use their judgment where it matters most. Strong legal operations can connect people, processes, technology, and data into a legal function that is faster, smarter, and ready for change.
Watch the full conversation here: Notes to My (Legal) Self: Season 14, Episode 4 (ft. Carolyn Herzog)
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