The legal complexity of a matter is an excellent measure of how efficiently a piece of work can be completed and the appropriate resources to engage. So how should you determine where a piece of work fits on the 0 - 10 rating scale.
Complexity should be considered in relation to the legal advice required for the matter.
Considerations may include:
- The number of areas of law: if there are multiple areas of law that are involved in addressing a matter, then it is likely that it is of high complexity
- The area of law: consider the complexity of the area of law. For example, constitutional law is likely to be considered high complexity
- Stakeholders: how many stakeholders are involved? If there are multiple stakeholders within and outside the organization, that task is likely to be of higher complexity
- Adversarial: is the matter contentious and likely to be adversarial? If so, it may be considered high complexity
- Novel or repeat: if we see similar matters on a regular basis (or if there are several precedents available), then it is likely it will be of lower complexity
- Precedent value: is the outcome of the matter likely to set a precedent? It may be of higher complexity if it would be considered to set a precedent
Ratings may include:
0 = no legal content
1 = cursory legal knowledge required
2 = some legal knowledge required, repetitive legal work for which precedents are available
3 = legal training required (eg. junior lawyers)
4 = legal training and experience required (junior to mid level lawyers)
5 = application of legal training and experience essential
6 = difficult application of law, use of precedents
7 = complex area of law, limited precedents
8 = several areas of complex law, multiple stakeholders, limited precedents
9 = many areas of complex law, many stakeholders, no or limited examples
10 = multi-faceted complex law, many stakeholders, no examples
Tip: You can set guidance for your team on the 'Complexity' scale using Tooltips.
If you require more information or support, you can get in touch with the Support team here or email support@xakiatech.com.