What does it mean to be strategic in legal operations, especially when your team is lean and your resources are limited?
In a recent episode of the Legal Leaders Exchange podcast, we spoke with two legal ops leaders who are proving that size doesn’t dictate impact. Catrine Chevalier of DHL and Stacy Lettie of Organon lead teams of just three and under three people, respectively, yet support dozens of legal professionals across global organizations. Their stories offer a roadmap for how small teams can drive meaningful change.
Strategy starts with listening
Both leaders agree: being strategic isn’t about chasing buzzwords or big tech. It’s about listening – really listening – to your stakeholders. Catrine emphasized that most people will tell you what they need without realizing it. By tuning in, legal ops professionals can identify pain points and prioritize changes that matter.
Stacy echoed this, suggesting that the best way to start is by meeting each team, understanding their challenges, and solving the easy problems first. These quick wins build trust and momentum.
The importance of digging in
When resources are tight, flashy initiatives can be tempting. But both of our guests stress the importance of mastering the basics, especially billing and invoice management. Stacy shared how simply reviewing line items and enforcing billing guidelines uncovered significant savings. It’s not glamorous, but it’s measurable, impactful, and a great way to demonstrate value early on.
Catrine’s journey at DHL began during COVID, when she was tasked with launching a global e-billing system. Her success came from curiosity – digging into the tool, understanding its impact, and encouraging her team to do the same. That mindset helped her evolve from analyst to strategic leader.
Once foundational systems are in place, data becomes a powerful tool. Catrine uses invoice and timekeeper data to negotiate better rates, evaluate law firm performance, and identify opportunities to insource work. Stacy adds that data should be collected with purpose, focusing on what leadership actually wants to know, like budget alignment and workload distribution.
Be careful with your time and resources
Small teams often wear many hats, but that doesn’t mean every task is strategic. Stacy shared how she pushed back on administrative requests that didn’t align with her goals. By advocating for her role and clarifying priorities with leadership, she focused on high-impact work.
Both leaders emphasized the power of incremental change. “Don’t overthink what it means to be strategic,” Stacy advised. In her experience, every impactful change has a much larger effect than you would expect. Catrine agreed: start with low-hanging fruit and build from there. This approach not only delivers results, it also builds credibility, reduces risk, and creates buy-in for larger initiatives.
Legal ops isn’t one-size-fits-all. Stacy cautioned against blindly following industry trends. What works for one organization may not work for another. She shared how she initially prioritized a contract lifecycle management system, only to realize that other initiatives were more urgent based on stakeholder feedback.
Build skills and extend your reach
Leading a lean team often means learning new skills. Stacy taught herself to build forms in Microsoft Office on weekends – not ideal, but it made her more effective. Catrine became proficient in Power BI to demonstrate impact visually. Visual reporting is key. Whether it’s dashboards, charts, or simple visuals, showing results helps stakeholders understand the value legal ops brings. It also builds support for future initiatives.
Small teams may find that the expertise and goals of colleagues outside of legal ops are aligned with legal operations in serendipitous ways. Both leaders have tapped into resources beyond their immediate teams, including IT support and offshore help.
The takeaway? Strategic legal ops isn’t about having a big team. It’s about having a clear vision, listening well, starting small, and building consistently. With curiosity, focus, and willingness to learn, even the smallest teams can make a big difference.
Listen to the episode “Small teams, big impact: Strategic legal ops with DHL & Organon” to hear the enlightening conversation.
