Page 124 - MASTER COPY LEADERS BOOK 9editedJKK (24)_Neat
P. 124
Leaders in Legal Business
General legal advice 31% 32% 11%
Health care N/A N/A 1%
Intellectual property 8% 11% 6%
International/cross-border 4% 6% 4%
IT/e-commerce 2% 1% 2%
Litigation 13% 13% 5%
Mergers and acquisitions 5% 5% 3%
Real estate N/A N/A 3%
Regulatory/government affairs N/A N/A 6%
Other 17% 19% 13%
These pressing issues confirm that in-house lawyers are playing an increasingly critical role in the
business operations of the companies they serve.
To be sure, the role of in-house counsel used to be limited to traditional legal work and transactions. Now
it has become more critical for corporate lawyers to understand the business operations of the organizations they
serve so that they can act as guardians and strategists for the company.
To delve further into the changing role of GCs and CLOs, ACC compiled a survey7 of 689 GCs and CLOs,
78 public company directors who are members of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD),
interviews with 28 current and former GCs, board members, CEOs, legal futurists, and executive recruiters
worldwide to gain additional insight into the broad range of CLO and GC job responsibilities.
The survey also included the core skill sets that will be required for future general counsel to be successful
in a global business environment. More specifically, it examined the ability to embrace risk and make key
decisions, place legal issues in a larger business context, effectively communicate with business partners, and
work seamlessly with the executive team and the board of directors to make productive decisions about operations
and strategy.8
The survey found that the responsibilities of today's GC and CLO fell into three areas: leader of the legal
department, counselor in chief, and business strategist.
Managing Legal Matters is a Top Way GCs Provide Value
According to the report, the most important responsibility of the general counsel/chief legal officer
remains that of the main provider of legal advice and manager of the legal department. Approximately 84 percent
of GCs report providing legal advice and managing legal matters for the company as one of the top ways they
provide value to their organizations.
Although nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of corporate directors rated these more traditional functions
in the top three contributors to value, they were more likely to see value in other activities. Directors were much
more likely, for instance, to view the compliance function as a source of value added by the GCs, than the GCs
were themselves (54 percent versus 34 percent).9
While managing legal expenditures ranked lower on the list of value-add activities (approximately 10
percent of both directors and GCs rated this in their top three), experienced GCs were much more likely to report
7 See EBook: Skills for the 21st Century General Counsel, ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE COUNSEL (2013),
http://www.acc.com/legalresources/upload/GCSkillsEbookRevised.pdf.
8 Id.
9 Id. at 4.
117
General legal advice 31% 32% 11%
Health care N/A N/A 1%
Intellectual property 8% 11% 6%
International/cross-border 4% 6% 4%
IT/e-commerce 2% 1% 2%
Litigation 13% 13% 5%
Mergers and acquisitions 5% 5% 3%
Real estate N/A N/A 3%
Regulatory/government affairs N/A N/A 6%
Other 17% 19% 13%
These pressing issues confirm that in-house lawyers are playing an increasingly critical role in the
business operations of the companies they serve.
To be sure, the role of in-house counsel used to be limited to traditional legal work and transactions. Now
it has become more critical for corporate lawyers to understand the business operations of the organizations they
serve so that they can act as guardians and strategists for the company.
To delve further into the changing role of GCs and CLOs, ACC compiled a survey7 of 689 GCs and CLOs,
78 public company directors who are members of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD),
interviews with 28 current and former GCs, board members, CEOs, legal futurists, and executive recruiters
worldwide to gain additional insight into the broad range of CLO and GC job responsibilities.
The survey also included the core skill sets that will be required for future general counsel to be successful
in a global business environment. More specifically, it examined the ability to embrace risk and make key
decisions, place legal issues in a larger business context, effectively communicate with business partners, and
work seamlessly with the executive team and the board of directors to make productive decisions about operations
and strategy.8
The survey found that the responsibilities of today's GC and CLO fell into three areas: leader of the legal
department, counselor in chief, and business strategist.
Managing Legal Matters is a Top Way GCs Provide Value
According to the report, the most important responsibility of the general counsel/chief legal officer
remains that of the main provider of legal advice and manager of the legal department. Approximately 84 percent
of GCs report providing legal advice and managing legal matters for the company as one of the top ways they
provide value to their organizations.
Although nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of corporate directors rated these more traditional functions
in the top three contributors to value, they were more likely to see value in other activities. Directors were much
more likely, for instance, to view the compliance function as a source of value added by the GCs, than the GCs
were themselves (54 percent versus 34 percent).9
While managing legal expenditures ranked lower on the list of value-add activities (approximately 10
percent of both directors and GCs rated this in their top three), experienced GCs were much more likely to report
7 See EBook: Skills for the 21st Century General Counsel, ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE COUNSEL (2013),
http://www.acc.com/legalresources/upload/GCSkillsEbookRevised.pdf.
8 Id.
9 Id. at 4.
117
