Legal departments are making changes to the way that they evaluate potential outside counsel or service providers—and the transformation isn’t always harmonious. On Wednesday, Buying Legal hosted a webinar titled “Procurement, the GC’s Office and Legal Ops: Living Together and Thriving” that looked at how the various professionals involved in those roles can both clash and potentially work more effectively together for the greater health of the legal department.

One key point of contention may be corporate legal’s reliance on a list of approved service providers or preexisting relationships. Panelist Lon Povich, counsel at Anderson & Krieger and previously chief legal counsel in the office of the governor of Massachusetts, indicated that general counsel and legal procurement professionals often have dueling interests at play.