Legal Innovation in Operations (LIO) Project Application

The 2023 LIO Project application window is now closed.
If you are interested in applying for the 2024 LIO Project, please check back on February 15, 2024.

Background:
CLOC was founded on the premise of driving positive change through its active and responsive global legal operations member communities. As legal departments and the role of legal operations professionals evolve, the global community of CLOC members is committed to innovating, taking risks, and tilting the status quo.

Legal service providers and legal academia, as key business partners and suppliers, are well positioned to play an essential role in advancing the legal operations role and its capabilities and value. While innovation continues to attract attention and headlines, we want to ensure that we identify and celebrate those organizations that are propelling the role of legal operations – with their clients and amongst themselves!

What is LIO?
It is in this spirit that we created The Legal Innovation in Operations Project (“The LIO Project”), a prestigious recognition program honoring those organizations that have achieved innovation and design excellence in legal operations, thereby contributing to the continuing evolution of the global corporate legal ecosystem.

The LIO Project is focused on how legal service providers and educators are changing their service and business models to better address client needs from an operational (rather than substantive) perspective. It’s about analyzing, designing, and improving the client experience and business performance of a company through the lens of its corporate legal function and its internal business customers. And it’s about demonstrating the role and value legal can play when it focuses on business outcomes rather than only legal outcomes.

Who is eligible to enter?
We are pleased to welcome submissions from the entire legal ecosystem, including legal service providers, law firms, academic providers, and in-house teams throughout the globe that are eager to share the valuable contributions they have made to further legal operations capabilities and value.

How are applications evaluated?
All completed entries will be evaluated by a cross-section of industry leaders, and judged based on established, evidence-based content and outcomes. After reviewing all entries, the jury will select three (3) submissions that will be formally recognized at the 2024 CLOC Global Institute in May as “The 2024 LIO Leaders” and invited to present and discuss their innovation on the Main Stage.

Key Benefits of Participating
Each organization that is selected as a 2024 LIO Leader can expect immediate, meaningful benefits, including:

• Prestige: The CLOC LIO Project recognition will be internationally recognized as a mark of excellence within the legal innovation arena.
• Media: Free publicity for your organization’s brand.
• Leadership: Differentiates your organization from the competition; establishes trust, credibility, and authority.
• Networking: Access to a broader audience; fostering vital connections that can lead to the growth of your business.
• Talent: Key branding opportunity; establishes a new pipeline to attract talent (e.g., legal business leaders).

Timeline
The 2024 LIO Project submissions will be open from February 15, 2024 through March 7, 2024. All entries are required to be a joint submission between the provider or educator and their named client reflecting their active collaboration on the project.  The submission can be for any joint project completed within the past few years. 

If you have any questions regarding LIO or the submission process, please reach out to lio@cloc.org.