Each week, the Law.com Barometer newsletter, powered by the ALM Global Newsroom and Legalweek brings you the trends, disruptions, and shifts our reporters and editors are tracking through coverage spanning every beat and region across the ALM Global Newsroom. The micro-topic coverage will not only help you navigate the changing legal landscape but also prepare you to discuss these shifts with thousands of legal leaders at Legalweek 2023, taking place March 20-23, 2023 in New York City. Stay tuned for more information.

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The Shift: The Ever-Evolving Legal Department in a VUCA Environment

If there was one overarching theme at Legalweek from in-house leaders, it is that they are in a VUCA environment. If you haven't heard the term VUCA, it has become a trendy managerial acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and a catchall for "Hey, it's crazy out there!" And nothing could be more true for legal department leaders.

These past two years have certainly brought unforeseen challenges to legal departments on top of a growing list of responsibilities, and it doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon. CLOs are constantly trying to navigate the shifting sand beneath their feet on a daily basis while also trying to anticipate what is around the corner. As crisis manager Judy Smith discussed in our keynote discussion at Legalweek, sometimes it seems like you never get a chance to get out of crisis mode.