A Look at What's in Store for GE's In-House Counsel After UnitedLex Deal

William Deckelman, general counsel of DXC Technology, drew on his own recent experiences with UnitedLex to tell Corporate Counsel what GE's legal department might be in for after inking the agreement.

March 22, 2018 at 05:26 PM

4 minute read

The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel

Photo: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com

Talk about disruption. The almost legendary legal department at General Electric Co.—where general counsel Ben Heineman Jr. reigned for 18 years and enshrined the “lawyer-statesperson” model—is innovating once again.

In a move certain to shake up GE's in-house counsel structure, UnitedLex, an Overland Park, Kansas-based legal services company, said Thursday that GE has signed a multiyear contract to expand its use of UnitedLex's services. The move will reduce Boston-based GE's legal spend by 30 percent, according to the announcement, while greatly enhancing the legal team's digital processing across the globe.

Although neither company would discuss personnel moves or dollar amounts, the deal is expected to save GE between $40 and $50 million and allow it to repurpose as many as 75 lawyers, with some of those transitioning to UnitedLex, one person familiar with the deal told The American Lawyer, a sibling publication of Corporate Counsel.

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