Legal Leadership Strategies for the Evolving Landscape: Nailing 2025
January 2025
By
Catherine Kemnitz

Entering 2025, strategic budget management and the integration of technology have emerged as top priorities for legal departments worldwide. At Axiom, we see every day how these challenges impact our clients and believe that adopting practical strategies and innovative solutions will help legal teams navigate the complexities on the horizon and position themselves for success this year.
Recently, I participated in a conversation with Laijing Lee, Head of Legal and Director at RMIT University, and Gihan Wijeratne, Head of Legal at Ingenico, moderated by Jerome Doraisamy, Editor at Lawyers Weekly. Together we explored the pressing hurdles legal leaders must overcome to adapt to the shifting priorities and complexities of their departments.
This webinar comes at a pivotal time: After the financial strains of 2023 and 2024, many legal departments are now at an inflection point where potential budget increases could transform their operations.
Reflecting on the shift from the COVID era to today, the challenges for legal leaders have evolved significantly. While the early pandemic years focused on rapid crisis management, today’s hurdles require maintaining adaptability while aligning legal strategy with enterprise goals. The rise of generative AI and advanced legal tech tools has added both complexity and opportunity.
A crucial theme we discussed was the evolution of budget management. The uncertainty of recent years has taught legal leaders to be agile, resourceful, and proactive. Any budget expansions in 2025 must be managed with sustainability in mind. This involves lessons from lean times and applying those lessons to drive growth, innovation, and efficiency. The aim is to position legal as a catalyst for business strategy—enabling growth while managing risk effectively, preserving the department’s ability to react.
At Axiom, we see cautious optimism among in-house legal teams. Leaders like Laijing emphasize the importance of adaptability, integrating flexible legal staffing models and embracing technology to manage workloads and retain talent through sustainable practices. However, adopting new technology is not without its difficulties. Change management, thoughtful rollout, and team training are vital to ensure success.
This period of potential growth aligns with a strategic shift as companies prepare for renewed M&A activity, fundraising, and major transactions after a few years of restraint. This makes deliberate, budget planning and strategic resource allocation more critical than even. The focus isn’t just on spending more but on investing where it yields the most value—setting priorities, staying flexible, and empowering in-house teams.
During the webinar, we explored how legal departments can align more closely with C-suite priorities, connecting legal strategy to overarching business objectives. This alignment is crucial for effective communication and prioritization, especially as regulatory landscapes shift rapidly. By adopting this strategic mindset and fostering collaboration, legal leaders can better navigate uncertainty and strengthen their impact.
If you missed the live event, I highly recommend watching the discussion on demand. It goes beyond outlining current challenges, offering actionable strategies for integrating flexible solutions, managing budgets wisely, and implementing technology effectively.
💡 Explore legal leadership strategies for your team to nail this year's success.
Posted by
Catherine Kemnitz
Catherine Kemnitz is Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Axiom. Throughout her 9-year tenure at Axiom in senior roles, Kemnitz has brought her extensive legal experience to bear across a range of strategic, commercial, corporate development and operations roles. In her prior role as Chief Legal Officer, Kemnitz led the global Legal & Compliance, Corporate Development, and Corporate Secretary functions. She is known for her strengths in driving strategic growth and high stakes transformation.
Related Content
Legal Meets Its Moment(s)
Catherine Kemnitz, Chief Legal Officer at Axiom, discusses how legal leaders must move the legal ecosystem forward to meet twin moments of our time: the pandemic and the reckoning for racial justice.
3 Steps for Building an Agile Legal Pilot Within Your Growth Company
Here’s how GCs at growth companies can craft strategic, effective legal teams when they can’t afford to hire through traditional channels.
To Retain Talent, GCs Should Prioritize Mission Statements
Axiom's chief legal officer, Catherine Kemnitz, explains how GCs should prioritize mission statements to retain top talent in a recent Law360 byline article.
Legal Meets Its Moment(s)
Posted by Catherine Kemnitz- Expertise
- North America
- Legal Department Management
- Must Read
- Perspectives
- Work and Career
- State of the Legal Industry
- Legal Technology
- Solutions
- Spotlight
- Artificial Intelligence
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Legal Operations
- United Kingdom
- Central Europe
- General Counsel
- Labor & Employment
- Real Estate
- Australia
- Banking
- Commercial & Contract Law
- Diversified Financial Services
- Investment Banking
- News