IT Vendor Management Best Practices in Law Departments

The adage, do more with less, applies to today’s corporate legal departments with less budget to hire more talent. This means legal operations' reliance on IT vendors to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and maintain software compliance is increasing. Essential IT vendor management best practices are crucial to ensure that these partnerships deliver maximum value. In this article, we explore IT vendor management best practices focusing on the unique needs of corporate legal departments and particularly the legal operations teams that lead its effective management.

What is Vendor Management in Corporate Legal?

Before we look into IT vendor management best practices, first we’ll review vendor management. Broadly, vendor management is an application in enterprise legal management software that enables legal teams and legal operations to analyze outside counsel performance. The analysis includes dashboard comparisons of law firms, legal spend, matter budgets, and overall evaluation metrics.

Regarding IT vendor management, the legal operations professional oversees and coordinates relationships with IT vendors to ensure that the services and products provided align with the department's strategic goals. Legal operations directors must negotiate contracts with IT vendors and others that deliver legal services; monitor performance of each and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards.

What IT Vendors Provide

IT vendors offer a range of products and services tailored to the needs of corporate legal departments. These can include legal management software, e-discovery tools, data security solutions, and cloud-based platforms for enterprise legal management, document management, matter and case management software, and productivity and collaboration, as examples. IT vendor management best practices depend on back-end knowledge and due diligence by a legal operations technology manager to understand who and which company the IT vendor is from; what services they offer after the sale; and whether professional services are offered.

IT Vendor Management Best Practices for Selection Criteria

When selecting IT vendors, several key criteria come to mind:

• Reputation and Experience: Evaluate the IT vendor's track record and expertise in the legal industry. Ask for proof points for that experience with companies in your vertical market.
• Compliance and Security: Enterprise legal management software is SaaS or software as a service, in the cloud. The security of your data and the compliance of the IT vendor to regulatory issues e.g., data privacy is paramount to the relationship's success.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Legal departments grow with the organization, and software must be scalable and flexible to lead the department to maturity. IT vendors should offer additional services on benchmarking, developing data-driven insights, and how to use additional software features to deliver enhanced user experiences. Choose vendors that can grow with your department's needs.
• Cost and Value: The value of software needs to be offset by ROI of the software. This aspect is part of IT vendor management best practices and is likely one of the most critical factors. Ensure that legal operations inquire about the cost investment of the scalable enterprise legal management solution, so that value can be proven, shown and extended across the life of the relationship.
• Customer Support: Some news reports indicate that the customer support function is going by the wayside. If this feature is critical for your legal operations team, then make doubly certain that customer support is provided. These services come in various ways, and, if needed, customers can purchase additional support packages with more attention provided.

Additional IT vendor management best practices include the following:

• Research potential vendors and read reviews or case studies; ask for referrals; and review web pages, ratings, and other public domain information.
• Engage Stakeholders in the selection process to ensure alignment with departmental goals.
• View demos about the product and also ask for a product roadmap to see what new features are coming soon.
• Create an RFP for 3-4 vendors and do a side-by-side comparison to evaluate each vendor with the various features that are most critical for the legal department.
• Negotiate contracts carefully and pay attention to the master services agreement, deal terms, additional negotiated services, pricing, professional services features and programs, and data security, among others

IT Vendor Services After Software Implementation

So much effort is put into selecting an IT vendor, followed by software deployment. Implementation of the software isn’t the finish line. Ongoing collaboration with IT vendors is essential. Depending on the type of service package that a legal operations director selects, there should be account managers who service their accounts with regular check-ins after purchasing software. This ensures that the software is effectively integrated into existing systems and that users receive adequate training and support.

Post-purchase services from IT vendors can include:

• Implementation Support: Assistance with software installation and configuration.
• Training and Onboarding: Programs to help users become proficient with new tools.
• Maintenance and Updates: Regular updates and maintenance to ensure optimal performance.
• Technical Support: Access to help desks and troubleshooting resources.
• Customization: Tailoring software to meet specific departmental needs.
• Integration of APIs: Ensuring seamless integration with existing systems and workflows.
• Change Management: Assisting with the transition to new technologies and processes.

IT vendor management best practices require an effective and proactive approach. Regularly review vendor performance, maintain open lines of communication, and be prepared to renegotiate terms as the legal department's needs evolve. By following these best practices, corporate legal departments can maximize the value of their IT vendor partnerships and stay ahead in a competitive landscape. By carefully selecting and managing IT vendors, legal teams can enhance their operational efficiency, reduce risks, and achieve their strategic objectives. Reach us to learn more about IT vendor management.