Ep 01 - Legal Ops Starter Pack for Small Legal Teams with Katrina Gowans from CLOC

Описание: Do you want to start transforming your small legal team but not sure where to start with legal ops?

In this episode of Legal Lightbulbs, Verity sits down with Katrina Gowans, Legal Operations leader and Co-Chair of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) Australia, to unpack what legal ops really means and how small in-house legal teams can make meaningful change without massive resources.

Whether you're a sole counsel or leading a small legal team inside a global company, this conversation is packed with practical strategies for knowledge management, project prioritisation, stakeholder engagement, and getting legal tech right (without the shiny object syndrome).

Katrina shares her real-world success building a global knowledge management system using SharePoint, discusses budget-friendly legal ops wins, and breaks down how to:
🔸Communicate with executives to build buy-in
🔸Prioritise projects that align with business strategy
🔸Avoid common mistakes (like jumping straight to tech!)
🔸Measure ROI and build a business case for transformation
🔸Use free tools like Excel, Power Automate, and Microsoft 365 in clever ways

Plus, we shine a spotlight on the upcoming CLOC Australia Summit (20 August, Sydney) and how the community is supporting legal ops pros across the region.

This episode is perfect for:
🔹 In-house lawyers exploring legal transformation
🔹 Legal operations professionals looking for playbook examples
🔹 Legal leaders building business cases for innovation
🔹 Anyone wanting to modernise their legal team without blowing the budget

Timestamps
01:19 What is Legal Ops / are Legal Operations?
03:14 Common Mistakes small legal teams make in Legal Ops
04:38 Strategic Planning for Legal Ops
07:49 Implementing Knowledge Management Systems
14:00 Change Management in Legal Ops
19:14 Building a Business Case for Legal Ops
21:55 Implementation Costs and Team Effort
22:19 Holistic Investment Considerations
22:35 Acknowledging Technology Learning Curves
23:23 Measuring Return on Investment
24:19 Success Metrics and Legal Ops
27:32 Leveraging Law Firm Relationships
28:18 The ‪@cloccorporatelegaloperatio1073‬ Community in Australia
30:08 Upcoming CLOC Events and Training
33:09 Lightning Round: Tools, Metrics, and Trends
35:57 Legal Light Bulb Moments

The Legal Ops Starter Pack: Where to Begin (with Katrina Gowans, Co-Chair of CLOC Australia)
🎧 Legal Lightbulbs Episode 01

📌 Resources & Links Mentioned:
For show notes and links, visit https://www.checklistlegal.com/podcast

Connect with us!
Katrina Gowans:   / katrina-gowans-40986942  
Verity White:   / verityw