At a the recent GCN Legal Operations conference in Amsterdam, KLDiscovery’s Eric Mandel and Tina Shah joined discussions with legal professionals from across Europe. The group included a mix of general counsel and Legal Operations specialists all dealing with a similar set of pressures. The conversations that flowed focused on how in-house teams are adapting to increasing regulatory complexity, limited resources, and rapid developments in technology.
According to the 2025 CLOC State of the Industry Report, 83 percent of legal departments expect growing demand, and 63 percent say they are already under-resourced. Around 30 percent have adopted AI tools, and over half plan to introduce them within the next two years.
Legal Operations functions (whether formalised or still developing) are often expected to support governance, ensure policy is followed, and make coordination between departments work in practice.
During the event, Eric and Tina noted three areas that came up repeatedly in conversations: unclear data ownership and retention, governance gaps in AI adoption, and coordination across functions. Each of these is addressed in turn below.
Retention, Deletion, and Contract Closure
Several attendees raised concerns about data management. In many companies, retention policies are not reviewed regularly. Deletion may be assumed to happen, but there is often no follow-up to confirm it. Data that is no longer needed remains in systems, which increases risk and cost.
Eric pointed out how these tasks can be left unresolved: “With storage still becoming cheaper and with the advent of GenAI and cloud computing, disposition of data tends to fall between the cracks. Everyone thinks someone else is dealing with it. But no one checks until it becomes a problem.”
Another recurring topic discussed by conference goers: what happens to data when contracts end? Many supplier agreements do not include clear instructions for returning or deleting information. Legal Operations teams are often asked to fix this after the fact, when better contract language could have addressed it from the start.
Legal Operations professionals therefore play a key role in reviewing retention rules, working with IT and procurement, and ensuring data handling is properly covered during and after external engagements.
AI Use and Oversight
It was clear to Eric and Tina that another (predictable) common theme was always going to surface over breakfast, lunch and dinner… the use of AI.
Some legal departments are already using AI tools to support contract review, triage, or research. Others are in the early stages of evaluating how and when they might adopt these systems. Oversight though, is often unclear. While legal, IT, and procurement may all be involved, responsibility is rarely agreed upfront.
The EU AI Act will require organisations to categorise tools, assess risk levels, and document how those tools are used. The World Economic Forum has also highlighted the speed at which AI is being adopted, often without formal oversight in place.
Eric noted that many attendees described AI use happening ahead of formal review. “Without documentation and defined oversight, AI just adds another unknown risk to the stack.”
Legal Operations teams are often the ones being asked to support this oversight. They help document tool usage, clarify roles, and ensure that internal policies reflect how systems are actually being used.
Cross-Team Coordination
One of the most common themes at the event was the difficulty of coordinating across departments. Legal, IT, compliance, procurement, and security all contribute to managing governance and risk. But even when policies exist, follow-through often fails because responsibilities have not been agreed.
Legal Operations teams do not need to own every step of the process. What they often needs to do though, is to make sure the right people are involved, that processes are well documented and that each team understands its role in regard to legal risk. The goal is not control, but consistency so that decisions can be made and acted on without additional delay or confusion.
Where KLDiscovery Fits
KLDiscovery supports legal and compliance teams with the operational side of governance. This includes reviewing and improving retention and deletion workflows, advising on legal hold procedures, and helping clients strengthen contract language that deals with data handling when engagements end.
KLDiscovery also works with teams preparing for AI-related regulation. This involves defining oversight processes, documenting tool usage, and helping identify where suppliers or internal systems may present new risks.
Closing Thought
In various discussions with attendees, Eric and Tina picked up on a core theme “’Legal Operations’ means different things in different places. Sometimes it is a defined team. Sometimes it is one person doing five jobs. But from the conversations during the conference, it was clear that the pressure to deliver is there regardless.”
Legal Operations does not look the same in every company. But the need for clarity, coordination, and practical follow-through is becoming more consistent across the board. Legal departments are under pressure to manage new risks and respond faster to change, often without having full ownership of the systems involved.
KLDiscovery helps Legal Operations teams improve how policies are implemented, how responsibilities are tracked, and how day-to-day processes align with regulatory demands and internal expectations.
References
CLOC State of the Industry Report 2025: https://cloc.org/newsdesk/2025-state-of-the-industry-report/
LexisNexis – AI in Legal Ops: https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/b/thought-leadership/posts/how-ai-is-transforming-in-house-legal-teams-a-force-multiplier-for-efficiency-and-strategy
World Economic Forum – AI Governance Trends: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/09/ai-governance-trends-to-watch/