UAE VIP Study Hall: The Contract Function Optimisation Blueprint ​& Knowledge Management Essentials​

Introduction

The latest biannual In-Person VIP Study Hall brought together a blend of essential hard and soft skills training in two focused sessions. Our VIPs gained insights into the critical skills required for future in-house legal career success and learned practical drafting skills to enhance their day-to-day work.

Session 1: Contract Function Optimisation – How To Move Rapidly Towards Optimal Performance

The contract function is the engine room of many legal teams, but how well is yours really running? This session will take you through the what, why, and how of turning your contract function into a powerhouse of performance. Whether you're looking to fix inefficiencies or future-proof your operations, this session will help you see contracting through a whole new lens.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

1. What the contract function actually is and why you need to truly understand it

2. Why strategic planning for contract optimisation can’t wait

3. The real steps to transforming your contracting function, even on minimal budgets

4. How to perform a Contract Function Status Audit that reveals where your key gaps lie

5. Why data is your best ally in contracting performance

6. The Critical Pathway to contracting optimisation what you must get right

7. Our favourite Optimisation Hacks: practical interventions that generate fast, visible wins

 

So Here Are 10 Simple Things You Can Do Right Now

1. Career Plan: develop it and take control - commit to intentional activity​

2. Personal Brand: consider your personal brand – and make it based on excellence 

3. Mentorship: everyone needs one – internal clients, colleagues, external contacts​

4. Professional Development: identify it, demand it & obtain it. It is everywhere!​

5. Discomfort/New Opportunities: seek it out and accept it. It is what lawyering is about!​

6. Tune In: to trends relevant to your role and career plan ​

7. Relationships: identity, establish & cultivate them internally & externally​

8. Contribute: identify 3 simple things that you know will improve your team – offer it ​

9. Leadership Skills: you don’t have to be the GC to be a leader​ – and this value will be recognised

10. Volunteer: put your hand up! There are lots of opportunities in a transforming legal team, and getting involved 
 

Session 2: Knowledge and Know-How Management – The Untapped Power in Your Legal Team

Most legal teams are rich in knowledge but poor in managing it. This session focuses on how to systematically capture, store, and leverage your team’s know-how. Done right, knowledge management becomes a performance multiplier, driving consistency, improving speed, and reducing risk.

We’ll explore the following:

1. Why Knowledge Management (KM) is a key pillar of in-house legal team performance

2. The critical enablers that allow your knowledge function to thrive

3. How to build an actionable Knowledge Plan: complete with tips, pitfalls, and success markers

4. The role of self-help tools and knowledge harvesting in reducing dependency and increasing team autonomy

5. KM best practices for in-house legal teams: simple systems with powerful results

6. How technology is reshaping KM and what you need to know to keep up

Conclusion

Contracting and Knowledge Management are more than administrative functions, they’re strategic levers. Optimise them, and you’ll see measurable improvements in efficiency, risk mitigation, and stakeholder satisfaction.

The VIP Study Hall will give you practical tools, proven pathways, and expert tips to help you begin that transformation right now, with the resources you already have.

At GLS, we believe that transformation doesn’t start with headcount, it starts with know-how.