Kate entered a startup environment when she arrived at WGAC, where most people had never worked with lawyers before and the few people who often hadn`t had great experiences. Just going in and taking over would never work. Instead, Kate first spent her time learning more about the company – how it operated and where the law would fit in. One question that the Advocate General is thinking about a lot is whether.” Is my legal department well structured to meet the needs of the company? The question usually arises when the Advocate General takes office; if there is a structural change in the business (such as an acquisition); there are complaints about the service; There is a major crisis or failure where the department has not functioned as intended. In addition, some in-house legal teams have roles that do not necessarily require you to be a lawyer, such as paralegals, legal secretaries and compliance officers. The role of a paralegal has traditionally been one of administration and support, although some take on more complex tasks. The role of a legal secretary is generally to provide secretarial and administrative support services to lawyers. The role of a compliance officer is to mitigate risk by creating and implementing corporate policies and procedures to ensure that the organization complies with the rules and laws of the relevant regulatory authorities. In my experience, such a commitment can also reduce bias against a legal department and foster a collaborative understanding of how legal advice and commentary can be sought and given. I developed many interpersonal relationships through this approach, which created more ownership and teamwork.
If you don`t have other people on your team bouncing off ideas, a good network of in-house lawyers can be crucial. If you`re looking for outside advice, especially if it`s an area you`ve never worked in before, or in a country you`ve never worked in before, contacting your network can be incredibly beneficial and save you a lot of time, not only for firm recommendations, but also for common issues. than other high-growth companies have. We do not have to spend all the money on external consultants trying to find the answer to problems similar to action programmes. Whether you`re an individual lawyer or part of a new team, setting up an in-house legal department offers a great opportunity to create something tailored for your organization. Shereen Farah Hamid shares some practical tips to get started Whatever the “why,” there are a few things to consider when thinking about the right structure for your legal department. This cost/experience tension can have a significant impact on the configuration of the legal team, especially if the legal department is seen primarily as a cost center. However, Chris believes that older (and therefore expensive) recruits can help you win this battle in the long run, as they are able to demonstrate their value to the company faster and more effectively than junior recruits, and often in a way that goes beyond the law. You should consider sharing legal knowledge and information with the rest of the organization as additional advice and support.
Send regular email notifications to the company. Provide training on updates to regulatory requirements affecting operations or other relevant legal topics. The roles and structure of an in-house legal department may vary from company to company depending on the needs and situation. Some of the common roles are General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Sole Regional Counsel and Paralegal. Over the years, I have learned a lot of invaluable technical and operational knowledge from colleagues, which has helped me a lot in providing legal advice. According to Deloitte, companies expect more from their general counsel and legal departments. They want strategic information for business growth, not a tactical focus on legal advice for risk management. With the expectation of a reduction in expenses combined with complex and unpredictable legal work, the question arises; How do you do more with less without sacrificing quality? Establish departmental objectives to measure and manage performance and optimize productivity. Establish a budget and monitor the department`s workload and issues resolved to determine efficiency and how issues have been addressed. William Hay, General Counsel at Baring Private Equity Asia, is a veteran of setting up legal services. He established GE Capital`s first regional legal department in Asia, did the same for private equity firm Colony Capital and repeated the assignment for Baring Private Equity Asia. What does this mean for you? Well, that doesn`t mean you shouldn`t employ a paralegal.
In fact, you probably should! Creating sample documents, such as non-disclosure agreements, can meet the legal needs of your internal clients and protect the interests of the organization while educating them about the function and importance of these documents. Bloomberg`s survey found that lack of technical knowledge and time to learn new technologies were two of the biggest barriers to adopting legal technology. Finding technology that offers great integration and support can help mitigate some of these issues. Your due diligence on the most intuitive technology can also help you here. Technology allows for better legal work, and it is expected that legal departments will triple their spending on legal technology over the next few years. By providing in-house counsel with the right tools and using them effectively, they can achieve benefits for the entire organization. For helpful tips on how to get the budget for legal transformation initiatives, download our free eBook. One of the most common tactics used by progressive legal leaders to find efficiencies and better support the business is to embrace legal technology.
In-house lawyers are well positioned to innovate in the legal industry, as their roles tend to be broad and they influence many decisions. Using legal technologies like Plexus Gateway allows legal teams to work smarter, not harder, by automating administrative legal processes, reducing administrative costs, improving compliance, speeding execution, and freeing up the team to focus on more strategic tasks. A Deloitte report found that bringing technology into the legal department can add value to an entire organization and create an additional competitive advantage. Learn how our Legal Ops solution can help you maximize the efficiency of your department. Get regular feedback from your internal customers on satisfaction surveys or discussions about your department`s performance, from which you can identify areas for improvement. This not only puts the department on the map, but also establishes clear boundaries from the outset so that the department can work more efficiently.