Washington, D.C. (October 24, 2011) — Chief Legal Officers reveal an increased interest in attaining value from their outside counsel with “improved budget and matter management” and providing the “appropriate lawyer-to-task,” as key barometers, according to results from the Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) 2011 Chief Legal Officer Survey.  Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents are now using some type of value-based fee arrangement with a median of 10% or more of their outside counsel work performed under these fee arrangements, significantly higher percentages than those reported in 2009 (32%) and 2008 (21%).

The most pressing issue facing CLOs today, according to the survey, is “keeping apprised of company activities that may have legal implications.” Reducing outside legal costs and managing the increasing workload with tighter budgets and fewer resources, closely follows as an added concern.

“Client service and managing outside counsel relationships are at the heart of what in-house counsel do, and it’s no surprise that there’s been increased involvement with the ACC Value Challenge and that the survey results emphasize their interest in establishing better relationships with their outside counsel,” noted ACC President & CEO Veta T. Richardson. “The CLO’s success in addressing company priorities, while managing costs with outside counsel, further solidifies their credibility and importance within their respective organizations.”

More CLOs are planning to hire staff in the coming year than was reported in the 2009 and 2008 CLO Surveys, and this number has exceeded the levels of those reported in 2007. Though many respondents reveal plans to hire lawyers to do commoditized work and hire specialist for more complex work, most plan to hire those who can do a combination of the two.

“The increased trend in hiring more law department staff reflects positive growth within in-house legal departments,” explained James A. Merklinger, ACC Vice President and General Counsel. “ACC has seen a 20% increase in non-US based CLOs in the past three years and international in-house lawyers are expanding, as exemplified by this year’s survey demographics; therefore, a larger support staff is needed for the department internally as well as to work with outside counsel.”

Exploring the affect of the economy on legal departments, the survey asked CLOs how their law departments have been impacted by the economy.  Half of the respondents indicated the downturn in the economy affected their legal departments, a 20% decrease from 2009.   Those negatively impacted indicated that they suffered from an increased workload for their legal departments, followed by decreases in outside counsel expenditures and internal salary freezes. 

ACC’s 2011 Chief Legal Officer Survey Demographics: In August/September 2011, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) invited 5,665 ACC members and 2,905 non-members holding the title of Chief Legal Officer or General Counsel to participate in its 2011 Chief Legal Officer Survey.  The survey was open for a period of five weeks and 1,165 responses were received; 42% employed by private companies, 34% with public companies; remainder at non-profits, subsidiaries of foreign companies, LLCs and other organizations. Slightly half of respondents work in companies with 1,000 or less employees; 54% of respondents at companies with annual revenue under $500 million.

About ACC: The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is the world’s largest organization serving the professional and business interests of attorneys who practice in the legal departments of corporations, associations and other private-sector organizations around the globe. ACC promotes the common interests of its members, provides resources to help save time, money and effort, contributes to their continuing education and provides a voice on issues of global importance. With more than 29,000 members in more than 75 countries, employed by over 10,000 organizations, ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for both personal and professional growth. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.®  For more information, visit www.acc.com.