2026 Legal Department Planning: Insights from CFOs and the Latest Budget Benchmarks

In a challenging economic environment, more than 70% of CFOs view the current conditions as unfavorable for their business, with nearly 40% implementing cost contingency plans in specific areas, according to a Gartner Q1 2025 poll. For General Counsel (GC), these cost optimization mandates coincide with a surge in complex and urgent business requests for their legal teams. Leading GC are engaging in strategic discussions with their CFOs to enhance visibility into increasing legal workloads, address short-term spending constraints, and focus on long-term departmental transformation needs. In this complimentary Gartner webinar, Legal and Compliance Chief of Research Chris Audet speaks with VP Analyst Dennis Gannon from the Finance practice to share insights into the office of the CFO's likely mandates for 2026 budgets. Plus, Gartner Executive Partner Willie Hernandez will speak about Gartner’s latest budget benchmarking and forthcoming legal imperatives that indicate GC must sustain and even grow program resourcing in 2026. You will walk away with answers to your vital questions and recommended actions to help you achieve your goals.

• Learn how General Counsel can engage in productive conversations with CFOs to balance increased workloads with spending constraints

• Explore strategies for aligning short-term financial strategies with long-term departmental transformation

• Understand the budgetary expectations and imperatives for sustaining and growing legal resources in 2026
  
  

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