Transforming a Legal Function
for an AI-Enabled Future
RETHINKING HOW LEGAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS WOULD DELIVER VALUE IN A CHANGING WORLD
When a highly regulated financial services organisation began looking towards 2030, one thing was clear: its Legal, Corporate Affairs and Regulatory Affairs function could not continue to meet increasing demand simply by adding more people.
The organisation was experiencing rising matter volumes, increasing regulatory complexity and growing pressure to operate more efficiently. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence were beginning to redefine how professional services could be delivered, creating both opportunity and uncertainty.
For a function of approximately 300 colleagues, responsible for managing legal and regulatory risk, the challenge was significant. The leadership team recognised that the future would require new ways of working, different capabilities and a fundamentally different operating model. However, reaching agreement on what that future should look like proved difficult.
Some leaders were excited by the possibilities AI presented. Others questioned its suitability within such a risk-critical environment. Established ways of working had served the organisation well for many years, and understandably there was concern about changing a model responsible for protecting the organisation’s legal and regulatory obligations.
The challenge was never simply about organisational design. It was about creating enough confidence for leaders to design a future they were willing to lead.
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What work will still require specialist legal expertise?
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Where can technology improve quality, consistency and speed?
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Which capabilities will become increasingly important over the next five years?
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How should the function organise itself to deliver greater strategic value to the business?
CREATING A SHARED VISION BEFORE DESIGNING THE ORGANISATION
Rather than beginning with organisation charts or structures, I worked alongside the Chief Legal Officer and a leadership team of fourteen senior executives to establish a shared understanding of what the function needed to become.
Over a twelve-month programme, I designed and facilitated a series of executive workshops and collaborative working sessions that gradually moved the conversation from protecting today’s organisation towards designing tomorrow’s.
Together, we challenged long-held assumptions about how legal and regulatory services should be delivered in an increasingly technology-enabled environment.
Instead of asking, “What does the current organisation look like?”, we asked:
This created a very different conversation. Rather than debating organisational structures, leaders began making evidence-based decisions about capabilities, services and outcomes.
With a shared ambition established, attention turned to designing the future operating model.
Working collaboratively with the leadership team, we redesigned the function around three integrated service pillars, bringing together related capabilities to simplify service delivery, improve collaboration and remove duplication.
Alongside the operating model, we identified where emerging technologies could enhance the way work was performed. Opportunities included AI-supported matter intake and triage, contract lifecycle management, document automation, regulatory reporting and knowledge management, allowing legal specialists to spend more time providing strategic advice and less time on repetitive administrative activity.
The programme also defined the future workforce required to support the new model, identifying the leadership capabilities, technical expertise and emerging skills that would become increasingly important as technology continued to evolve.
Throughout the design process, every decision balanced three priorities:
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maintaining robust regulatory governance;
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improving operational efficiency; and
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preparing the function for an AI-enabled future.
This ensured the transformation remained both ambitious and practical.
DESIGNING A FUTURE-READY OPERATING MODEL
The programme delivered far more than a redesigned organisational structure. It gave the leadership team a shared vision, a practical roadmap and the confidence to lead significant change.
Key outcomes included:
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A future operating model for a 300-person Legal, Corporate Affairs and Regulatory Affairs function.
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A redesigned organisation built around three integrated service pillars, improving accountability, collaboration and end-to-end service delivery.
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A 30% reduction in organisational headcount, achieved through operating model redesign, capability clustering and more efficient ways of working rather than incremental cost-cutting.
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A future workforce strategy defining the capabilities and leadership required for an AI-enabled function.
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Executive alignment around a shared vision for the future, replacing initial uncertainty with collective ownership.
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A phased implementation roadmap that enabled transformation to progress while maintaining operational continuity and regulatory compliance.
Perhaps the most significant outcome was the shift in leadership mindset.
By involving leaders throughout the design process, difficult conversations about AI, organisational change and future capability became shared decisions rather than imposed recommendations. That ownership created the commitment needed to move confidently from strategic design into implementation.
Today, the function is better positioned to respond to increasing regulatory complexity, harness advances in AI and deliver greater strategic value to the wider organisation, demonstrating that effective Organisation Design is not simply about changing structures, but about helping leaders create organisations that are ready for the future.