How Abbott Built Real-Time Visibility into Legal Workspace Governance

Abbott Laboratories operates in more than 160 countries with over 114,000 employees. Its legal division manages a complex array of systems and data, and for years, workspace management sat on a native web-based tool that lacked the flexibility and transparency the team needed.

Workspace creation failures were common, and diagnosing root causes was slow and opaque. Even routine tasks like updating templates were difficult. The user interface was dated and unintuitive, generating a steady stream of support requests that fell to Lejoe Joseph’s legal tech team to field before issues could even reach central IT. In effect, they had become a shadow IT department.

When the legacy tool was retired, Abbott needed a replacement that didn’t just replicate its functions. The team required meaningful improvements to visibility and control, with troubleshooting that was straightforward, and governance was built in from the start.

“It was really hard to troubleshoot where the issues might be. Even updating templates was a challenge.” — Lejoe Joseph, Legal Technology Manager, Abbott Laboratories

Solution

Abbott turned to Litera, selecting CAM to replace its legacy workspace management tool and bring collaboration governance capabilities to a legal division managing systems across 160 countries.

Single-pane workspace visibility

CAM’s unified view of all workspace activity with customizable columns and real-time job status gave Abbott’s team visibility into their entire collaboration environment from one place. Identifying which jobs ran with errors, which were pending, and which had completed became a matter of seconds.

“It’s much easier to identify which jobs ran with errors, which are pending, and which are completed.” — Lejoe Joseph, Legal Technology Manager, Abbott Laboratories

A dashboard discovery that became a core operational tool

Shortly after implementation, the team discovered CAM’s dashboard feature. It gave them a real-time view of workspace activity they hadn’t known was available. What started as an unexpected discovery quickly became a core operational tool, helping the team identify which processes were failing most frequently and where closer monitoring was needed.

“We just realized there was even a dashboard view. That was kind of news to us. It’s helping us figure out which processes are failing the most and where we need to have more eyes.” — Lejoe Joseph, Legal Technology Manager, Abbott Laboratories

Consistent governance across every workspace

CAM enforced consistent templates, naming conventions, and security settings across Abbott’s collaboration systems, ensuring workspace standards were maintained across the entire environment.

Self-sufficiency for the legal tech team

CAM gave the team direct access to logs, error messages, and workflow diagnostics. Abbott’s legal tech team began resolving issues internally, reducing dependency on central IT and cutting resolution times across their workspace environment. Unlike generic collaboration tools, CAM is built with legal-specific governance requirements in mind, giving legal tech teams the visibility and control their environment demands.

Results

Two years into the CAM implementation, Abbott’s legal tech team operates with a level of visibility and control that changes how they approach their work every day.

Troubleshooting time cut dramatically

Detailed logs and error messages mean the team can now pinpoint the source of workspace issues in seconds. CAM makes root causes visible immediately, reducing the time spent on investigation and freeing the team to focus on higher-value work.

“We’re able to quickly identify where the issue is based on the logs and error messages.” — Lejoe Joseph, Legal Technology Manager, Abbott Laboratories

Reduced IT dependency

Abbott’s legal tech team has become a true first line of support, resolving issues directly through CAM and reducing dependency on central IT. The legal division now operates with greater autonomy, handling workspace issues that previously required IT escalation. With that self-sufficiency in place, Abbott’s legal division functions as a strategic operational asset rather than a cost center dependent on central IT.

A support partnership that delivers

When questions arise, Abbott’s team gets answers quickly. Support is responsive and accessible, with calls available within one to two days — giving the team confidence that help is there when they need it.

“When I reach out for support, I get answers quickly.” — Lejoe Joseph, Legal Technology Manager, Abbott Laboratories

“CAM has definitely made our lives easier. When there’s an issue, we know where to go. It’s brought peace of mind knowing we can get to the underlying issue sooner than before.” — Lejoe Joseph, Legal Technology Manager, Abbott Laboratories

See how legal tech teams like Abbott’s are building visibility and governance control into their daily operations. Let’s talk about what that could look like for your team.