Just what do general counsel up in the Great White North expect these days? Deloitte Canada has interviewed 70 GCs across nine industries throughout the country, compiling the results in its “Spotlight on General Counsel” report.
According to the report’s executive summary, “Our findings point to a shifting landscape where strategic input is increasingly being sought from in-house legal teams and more work is being insourced as general counsel look to reallocate responsibilities within.” Here are some highlights:
- Strategy: Four years ago, 62 percent of GCs said their roles included strategy. This year, 78 percent said so, but of those, only 20 percent said they are already giving strategic input. “Similarly, 32 percent of total respondents stated that their legal departments are not required to spend time with business units, which could be a key source of information for contributing to company strategy,” according to the report.
- Insourcing: It’s trendy to bring more work in-house these days. “The challenge for in-house counsel is to achieve the right balance in terms of what types of work is insourced,” according to the survey. Some 30 percent said controlling their external spend was a top priority in the next year.
- Talent: “Given the trend toward insourcing, it is no surprise that general counsel are looking to strengthen their rosters,” according to Deloitte. Seventy percent said they are trying to develop business management skills within their legal departments and are doing so by encouraging lawyers to sit in on other departmental meetings or even work with frontline staff. Communication skills, project management and emotional intelligence also were named as sought-after qualities in new hires.
