This Leading Practices Profile, an update to ACC’s 2009 The Role of the General Counsel in Canada LPP, describes practices implemented by the law departments of six organizations in Canada regarding law department structure, the professional development of their in-house lawyers, the selection and management of external service providers and the use of technology. Those practices were designed and intended to enable those departments to provide higher-value legal service to their respective organizations. Four of those organizations are private enterprises; one is an international, not-for-profit corporation and one is a statutory agency of a provincial government.
For a new General Counsel ("GC"), the pressure felt as a new employee is amplified because of the high profile nature of the role. This brief resource (Top Ten) contains some key actions a GC can take in the first few months on the job to increase the likelihood of success.
As the baby-boomer lawyers retire, legal departments in the United States will be looking to replenish their teams. Unfortunately, decreasing numbers of law school graduates means that there will be a smaller pool of talent ready for in-house work. Legal departments must meet this challenge by changing their hiring practices. Learn tips for recruiting and retaining this emerging crop of millennial lawyers.
Pursuing business opportunities often involves opening new offices. Building from the ground up can be a taxing endeavor. Sound legal advice applied to human resources, real estate, information technology and finance issues can unburden a company and optimize its time, money and attention. This article offers tips for in-house counsel managing the growth of offices.
Reactive law departments respond ad hoc to requests and handle emergencies as they crop up. Proactive departments have processes, tools and cultural behaviors in place to deal with incoming requests efficiently, and thus are better able to strategically manage risk. Learn more about what how legal departments can stop constantly putting out fires and become proactive business partners.
Smart companies plan, measure results and demonstrate success. The legal department within those companies needs to follow suit. Demonstrating to your client that you add value is critical. This program will teach the in’s and out’s of strategic planning and effective metrics development that will help you demonstrate your department’s successes and show your boss how you add value to the company’s bottom line.
This Wisdom of the Crowd, compiled from questions and responses posted on the ACC Small Law Departments and Law Department Management Committee eGroups, addresses the issue of disclaimer messages in company emails. The issues discussed include: I. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "GENERAL COUNSEL" AND "CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER" II. TAILORING YOUR TITLE TO SPECIFIC LEGAL DUTIES III. CRITERIA FOR SENIOR COUNSEL
This article offers tips on what to do if you are a new in-house counsel working for a company that has never had an in-house attorney.
This Leading Practices Profile continues the series of ACC Leading Practices Profiles examining the role of law department leaders and in-house counsel in managing the legal affairs of companies doing business abroad.
This Wisdom of the Crowd, compiled from responses posted on various ACC Committee eGroups, addresses the "Dos and Don'ts" for a company's first general counsel.