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Experts say the number of legal operations leaders who do not have law degrees is increasing, with little downside to having someone without a juris doctor lead the function.

"There is a recognition that legal operations do not have to be led by a lawyer. Often it is better if it is not led by a lawyer. It could be a finance professional or a technology professional or even an MBA," Robin Snasdell, managing director at Consilio, said. "It's not just lawyers that in-house legal departments need."

Mary O'Carroll, director of legal operations at Google and president of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, and Catherine J. Moynihan, executive director of the Association of Corporate Counsel legal operations, separately told Corporate Counsel that roughly half of legal operations leaders do not have a J.D. Neither group has done a formal study on the subject.

O'Carroll, who does not have a J.D., said in her 16 years in the profession she has not felt disadvantaged. She said of her 50-person team of legal operations professionals at Google, only one is an attorney.

"Legal ops is a multidisciplinary area that requires a strong foundation in things like financial management, project management, process improvement, change management, and at least a passion for technology," O'Carroll said in an email.

There is not a disadvantage to having a lawyer at the top of a legal operations function, Moynihan said. She said lawyers can naturally be good at finding ways to optimize legal services, although that is not in their law school training.

"Depending on the priority of the general counsel, you may be looking for a slightly different skill set," said Moynihan, who has an MBA but not a J.D.

Typically, high-ranking in-house work is given to firm attorneys who have worked as outside counsel. The skills of well-qualified firm attorneys are often better suited for creating revenue, which is a different attitude than that of in-house counsel, Snasdell said.

According to experts, there are no distinct disadvantages to having someone without a J.D. run a legal operations function. There may, however, be a perception issue.

"Having a J.D. is absolutely a bonus and often gives you more credibility and acceptance in the role with your lawyer clients, but I also think having a business or technology background allows you to bring in a new perspective and unique skill sets to the department," O'Carroll said.

It should be on the general counsel to include the head of legal operations, whether they hold a J.D. or not, on the leadership team. If the legal operations lead is part of leadership, the practice group leaders will hold them in higher regard, Moynihan said.

"Some GCs want a J.D. in this role because they hold a pure standing with the practice group leaders," Moynihan said. "I firmly believe that other GCs recognize that it isn't about the person's background. The general counsel is the one who makes the difference."