Aligning operational maturity with technology ensures legal departments invest in tools that solve actual problems rather than perceived ones. By using diagnostic frameworks and strategic roadmaps, legal ops professionals can cut costs, improve efficiency, and drive real transformation. This alignment was a key focus at the ELM Amplify 2025 conference during the session "Blueprint for Influence: Aligning Maturity and Tech to Drive Change." This guide breaks down that framework, offering actionable steps to assess your department's maturity, build a tech roadmap, and foster the collaboration needed to make it happen.
What are legal operations maturity frameworks?
A maturity framework acts as a diagnostic tool that allows legal teams to evaluate how well they manage and deliver services across specific functional areas. Before a legal department can effectively implement new technology, it must understand its current operational state to identify gaps and avoid misalignment and wasted resources.
Two industry-standard models provide structured pathways for this assessment:
- ACC maturity model: Provided by the Association of Corporate Counsel, this model evaluates 14 functional areas — including change management, financial management, and knowledge management — across three stages: Early, Intermediate, and Advanced. It offers a granular look at specific sub-functions and benchmarking data.
- CLOC Core 12: The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) focuses on 12 functional areas, assessing maturity through four stages: Reactive, Emerging, Developing, and Leading. This framework is often used for broader strategic guidance and organizational optimization.
In addition, Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions offers a detailed maturity assessment service to evaluate current and future needs and identify technology investments targeting the greatest organizational value and ROI.
How to build a strategic technology roadmap
A strategic technology roadmap avoids the common pitfall of acquiring "shiny objects" by defining technology needs based on their impact on efficiency, scalability, and cost reduction. Once a department establishes its maturity baseline, the next step involves aligning technology investments with specific maturity goals.
To build an effective roadmap, legal ops leaders should categorize technology needs into three horizons:
- Short-term: Focus on immediate wins that address acute pain points or "low-hanging fruit."
- Mid-term: Target structural improvements that require more time to implement but offer significant scalability.
- Long-term: Plan for transformative technologies that will reshape how the department functions in the future.
Aligning the roadmap with maturity goals enables strategic conversations with leadership. It shifts the narrative from simply requesting a new tool to demonstrating how an investment increases maturity, thereby reducing risk and cost.
Why is collaboration with IT essential?
Successful technology implementation requires proactive alignment between legal operations and IT departments. Technology does not operate in a vacuum, and regular communication is the bedrock of this relationship.
Best practices for fostering this partnership include establishing bi-weekly or quarterly meetings to review roadmaps, discuss challenges, and ensure IT understands the specific needs of the legal department. These touchpoints allow legal ops to navigate approval processes for budgets and security reviews more smoothly.
Strategies for effective change management
Effective change management is an ongoing process of education and engagement that prioritizes the human side of transformation. Even the most sophisticated technology roadmap will fail without user adoption.
To drive adoption, leaders should start small, focusing on initiatives that deliver tangible impact. Demonstrating value early builds momentum and trust among users. Effective strategies include transparent communication, continuous education, and opportunities for users to share their experiences and suggestions.
Moving forward with confidence
The insights from the Amplify session provide a clear blueprint for legal operations professionals looking to elevate their influence. To apply these insights, consider the following next steps:
- Conduct a maturity assessment: ELM Solutions offers a maturity assessment that yields easy-to-understand results and guidance.
- Develop and continuously audit your roadmap: Ensure every technology project on your list aligns with a specific maturity goal and business outcome.
- Strengthen IT ties: Set up a recurring meeting with your IT counterparts to review shared goals and upcoming initiatives.
