Given a significant part of a law firm’s job is to help clients avoid “gotcha” moments, it’s concerning to think about how outside counsel might unknowingly contribute to this fear—the fear of being blindsided. This is even more so the case knowing that most firms work diligently to make certain their clients are never caught off guard.

BTI Consulting Group recently reported that the top concern keeping general counsel up at night is the fear of “being blindsided.” Its annual survey of top legal decision-makers placed negative surprises above data privacy breaches, regulatory concerns and workload, which ranked second, third and fourth, respectively.