Legal teams are often at the heart of organizational operations, managing a whirlwind of contracts, policies, compliance checks, and more. But let’s face it—keeping legal workflows efficient, compliant, and easy for everyone involved can feel like a never-ending task. That’s where Atlassian’s Jira Service Management (JSM) steps in, offering legal teams a robust way to simplify, manage, and elevate their processes without the usual manual hassle.

So, how does JSM help legal teams? Let’s break it down step by step, with clear insights and actionable tips you can start using today. 🎯

Why Legal Teams Struggle With Workflows

Legal workflows often involve juggling requests, approvals, and documentation across departments. Misaligned communication, lack of centralized tools, and manual processes can create bottlenecks, delaying critical business decisions.

Ever experienced:

• Requests stuck in email threads?
• Missed deadlines because workflows weren’t clear?
• Team members searching for the same document for the umpteenth time?

Jira Service Management offers a tailored solution to these common challenges, giving your legal team the tools to focus on high-value work.

What Makes Jira Service Management Perfect for Legal Teams?

JSM isn’t just an IT tool—it’s a versatile platform that empowers teams across industries to manage their work efficiently. Here’s what sets it apart for legal teams:

1. Customer Portals: Empowering Self-Service

Say goodbye to scattered email chains. With JSM, you can create a user-friendly portal where employees or stakeholders submit legal requests directly. Customize the portal to align with your organization’s needs—contract reviews, policy clarifications, or intellectual property queries.

Bonus: Use the portal’s built-in knowledge base to answer frequently asked questions. This reduces repetitive queries and frees up time for your team to tackle more strategic tasks.

🔧 Pro Tip: Add quick links to legal templates or guides in the portal for even faster resolution times.

2. Workflows With Built-In Approvals

Navigating contracts or policies through review cycles can be tricky. JSM offers customizable workflows with approval stages, ensuring every request follows a defined path.

Whether it’s contract creation or policy updates, legal teams can track every step—from request submission to approval—while maintaining transparency with stakeholders.

Example Use Case:
A workflow for contract reviews might look like this:

1. Request submission →
2. Initial review by legal →
3. Approval by department head →
4. Final sign-off

🔄 Pro Tip: Automate notifications for pending approvals to keep things moving.

3. Automation: Cutting Out Repetitive Tasks

Legal teams often deal with repetitive tasks like drafting standard contracts or issuing notices. With JSM, automation takes care of these repetitive processes, letting your team focus on higher-value work.

For instance:

• Automatically assign tasks based on request type.
• Trigger reminders for deadlines.
• Generate standard responses for common requests.

⚙️ Pro Tip: Use automation rules to escalate overdue requests and ensure SLAs are met.

4. Knowledge Management: Your Legal Brain, Organized

Legal knowledge is often scattered across emails, shared drives, and hard-to-find documents. With JSM, build a centralized knowledge base to store and manage policies, FAQs, and guides.

• Provide self-service options for employees.
• Surface relevant articles during request submission to resolve issues faster.

📚 Pro Tip: Regularly update your knowledge base with the latest policies and case studies to keep it relevant.

5. Clear Queues: Prioritize Like a Pro

Managing multiple requests can be overwhelming without proper prioritization. JSM’s queue management feature lets you organize requests based on urgency, type, or SLA requirements.

Use Cases:

• Fast-track critical requests (e.g., intellectual property filings).
• Separate standard tasks like issuing letters from complex projects like contract negotiations.

🗂️ Pro Tip: Color-code queues for at-a-glance clarity.

Practical Benefits of JSM for Legal Teams

Let’s bring these features together to explore the tangible benefits JSM delivers:

• Efficiency: Streamline processes so legal teams can handle more requests in less time.
• Transparency: Provide clear visibility into request statuses, reducing back-and-forth communication.
• Compliance: Ensure all requests follow predefined workflows, reducing the risk of errors or missed steps.
• Collaboration: Enable seamless interaction between legal, HR, and other departments using centralized tools.

Step-by-Step: Getting Started With Jira Service Management

If this sounds like what your legal team needs, here’s how you can get started:

Step 1: Set Up Your Portal

Make it simple for employees to submit requests by creating a branded help center. Add categories for different request types like contracts, policies, or IP-related inquiries.

Step 2: Tailor Your Workflows

Customize workflows to match your team’s process. Whether it’s adding an approval stage or defining escalation rules, JSM adapts to your needs.

Step 3: Leverage Automation

Identify repetitive tasks—like sending reminders or assigning requests—and automate them using JSM’s powerful automation engine.

Step 4: Build Your Knowledge Base

Upload FAQs, policy guides, and templates into a searchable repository. Employees can resolve simple queries themselves, freeing up your team’s bandwidth.

Step 5: Monitor SLAs and Metrics

Use JSM’s real-time reporting tools to track SLA performance and identify areas for improvement. This ensures your team stays ahead of deadlines while continuously refining processes.

Final Thoughts: Workflows Without the Hassle

Legal workflows don’t have to be complicated. With Jira Service Management, your team can manage everything from contracts to compliance with clarity and confidence. Whether you’re handling a small volume of requests or operating at enterprise scale, JSM helps you stay on top of it all.

At Clovity, we’re an Atlassian Gold Solution Partner with a proven track record of helping teams implement and customize tools like JSM. Ready to simplify your legal processes?

📧 Contact us at sales@clovity.com
🌐 Visit us at atlassian.clovity.com