Team size: 55

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

In the last year, our legal department has been involved in multiple cases and transactions for Micro Focus. We participated in a global corporate-wide initiative involving a complete transformation of people, processes, and technology, saving the legal department US$3m in six months. Also, we had to cope with the Ukraine crisis and its impact on customers, partners, and employees, as well as with a large-scale class action litigation and broad mergers and acquisitions activities. Finally, our legal department participated in more than 450 commercial transactions in the private and public sectors, quarterly.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this? 

Close alignment with core values plays a significant role in our partnership determination with outside counsel, as it allows for better results, value-based outcomes, increased collaboration, and has a positive impact on the legal ecosystem.

Micro Focus legal has made a significant shift in outside counsel usage in the last six months, replacing four primary firms with an intentional adjustment towards close alignment to transformative and diverse values. These changes have resulted in early case assessments, improved resolution outcomes, cost savings and added value to the business.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team? 

As technology transforms how legal teams operate, it has become a differentiating factor in what defines best-in-class. For technology to be impactful, it needs to be part of a long-term strategy and vision with integrated plans for people and process support. The main technological advancements impacting in-house teams in the future include automated AI-based contract lifecycle management, AI-based technology to select the firm with the right experience, automated workflow technology connecting systems, people and processes, and non-email-based communication tools that enable remote connectedness and collaboration.

Micro Focus legal leverages AI to drive market-balanced contract standardisation, and automated report cards that flag higher-risk non-standard terms for prioritisation. We also use workflow automation, integrated with a legal request intake portal and electronic signature, to drive process standardisation and simplify how the business interacts with Legal. Lastly, we utilise AI-based contract search technology to identify historical contractual clauses, capture meta-data, and create a single source of contracting truth. Using technology, we have transformed the way we function to scale and increase velocity. By adopting a data-driven mindset, we organise and use the wealth of data available to make informed decisions that drive change and have a material and measurable impact.