General counsel often view succession planning for their own replacement as sensitive or complicated, but it’s essential for good corporate governance and actually can be a positive experience, panelists on a recent webinar said.

The process includes identifying required competencies, who might have those competencies or be interested in gaining them, developing a plan to fill in gaps, and providing others the opportunities to gain the skills they would need, said Jack Zemp, chief legal officer of the insurer Allianz Partners.