The rules of running a world-class legal department have changed. Legal departments are expected to run like a business. There has been a movement toward operating more efficiently and helping the business achieve a competitive advantage. Until recently, however, legal departments haven't had a specific role or individuals with the expertise to help general counsel achieve these objectives and deliver strategic value. Enter the Legal Operations Executive.

Last month in Chicago, a one-and-a-half-day conference was held with expert legal operations executives from across the nation. The conference was organized by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Huron Legal and was guided by a steering committee of leading legal COOs.

In an industry that is notoriously risk averse and slow to change and adopt business practices, more CEOs, CFOs and GCs see the value in not only providing great legal support that leads to a competitive advantage but also operating highly efficiently to provide value to their companies. To achieve that, forward-looking companies are adding operations professionals and chief of staff responsibilities in direct support of GCs and their legal teams.