From “death by a thousand emails” to streamlined workflows at Otsuka.
Otsuka’s legal department manages the agreements that keep pharmaceutical research and operations moving. From confidentiality agreements for new compounds to Power of Attorney documents for clinical trials, their work touches every corner of the business.
Before Workday CLM, every request arrived through someone’s inbox. Legal teams spent their time chasing details, managing version control, and drafting documents one by one. As Julie Richer, Senior Director and Chief of Staff for Legal Operations, put it, it was “death by a thousand emails.”
The constant interruptions pulled legal teams away from higher-value work. “It was a big disruptor for the department, and it was a big disruptor for attorneys,” says Richer. “If you’re going to disrupt anyone, it shouldn’t be the attorneys.”
The team chose to begin their modernization journey with workflow automation. Starting with high-volume, low-negotiation agreements like Confidentiality Agreements (CDAs), they created structured processes that replaced back-and-forth emails with standardized intake forms and automated document generation.
From email overload to structured workflows.
One example is the new Power of Attorney (POA) workflow. Study managers and clinical research organizations fill out a simple form that generates a complete document saving two to three business days each time. Over 45 legal team members have been trained on these workflows, and the team is preparing to add 13 more across departments.
The shift has given Otsuka’s legal team better visibility and control. All CDA and POA agreements now flow into a single repository. Dashboards are being developed to give the general counsel real-time insight into agreement activity. Otsuka is also eliminating months of manual contract handling in the post-M&A context by building out new Master Service Agreement workflows for newly acquired entities.
It was clear where our biggest pain point was, so that’s where we started. Once the foundation is in place, we can scale much faster.
Senior Manager of Legal Operations
What’s ahead for Otsuka.
With streamlined workflows in place, the team is turning its attention to contract intelligence. They have begun exploring how Workday Contract Intelligence can support due diligence during acquisitions and surface key contract terms for business planning.
By tackling their most pressing workflow challenges first, Otsuka has given its attorneys time back to focus on complex, strategic work while laying the foundation for total contract visibility. Their story shows how starting in the right place can help legal teams scale impact across the business.
We’ve built a strong operational base. Next, we want to use data to give leadership the facts they need for faster, better decisions.
Senior Manager of Legal Operations
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