“As it did with CFOs, the heightened attention to risk management broadened the role of general counsels over time. […] Increasingly, firms insisted that the top lawyer be at the table to discuss new initiatives so that their risks would be thoroughly analyzed before rollout. Many general counsels also became viable candidates for the job of CEO—evidence of their growing role as business partners.” —“The New Path to the C-Suite,” Harvard Business Review

The roles of general counsel (GC), chief legal officer (CLO) and corporate counsel (CC) have been growing in importance as C-suite leadership teams become more aware of the elevated risk conditions they are working in as well as the long-term cost of those risks. This heightened awareness has correspondingly caused high-functioning legal teams to expand their priorities and capabilities to address broader business requirements.