Details
The role of general counsel and in-house lawyers is changing continually. Legal is now considered a vital component of leadership in most enterprises, and it is increasingly common for the GC to be called on for strategic input prior to important business decisions. Added to this is the convergence of social and political trends driving new demand for legal advice and service delivery; an increasing focus on productivity and efficiency; pressure to demonstrate the value of legal to the business in order to gain budget support; and the need to adapt and advance digitally. The competencies required of the general counsel and their increasingly multi-disciplinary team are also growing with responsibilities expanding to encompass reputational risk, government relations, data privacy, ESG, and interacting with diverse stakeholders including regulators.
Edited by E Leigh Dance and Christoph H Vaagt, both with distinguished careers advising legal departments and teams for more than two decades, the second edition of General Counsel in the 21st Century offers general counsel and all in-house legal professionals a variety of expert perspectives on the evolution of the role of the GC and the corporate legal department. Chapters are written by an international group of well-known general counsel, corporate legal leaders, and other experts, and cover important topics for general counsel today, including:
- The evolution of the general counsel’s role;
- Legal operations as a competitive advantage;
- How adaptive legal functions are embracing technology;
- Managing change in a legal department; and
- Doing more with less.
This title provides guidance on how legal departments can best support the businesses they serve, identify and address areas where change is necessary, and anticipate developments on the horizon. Readers - whether in-house counsel or private practitioners - will gather best practices and learn new and perhaps surprising lessons to help them succeed in their jobs as leaders at the intersection of law and business.
- Executive summary
- About the authors
- Part 1: Strategy and structure
- Chapter 1: A slow motion riot: the evolving role of the general counsel and the legal department
- By Susan Hackett, CEO, Legal Executive Leadership, LLC
- Chapter 2: The general counsel, corporate governance and stakeholder capitalism
- By Bruno Cova, partner, Delfino Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Leanne Geale, executive vice president and general counsel, corporate governance and compliance, Nestlé S.A.
- Chapter 3: The general counsel’s role in leading the digital transformation of legal
- By William L Deckelman, Jr, executive vice president and general counsel, DXC Technology Company and Daniel Reed, CEO, UnitedLex
- Chapter 4: Legal operations as a competitive advantage
- By Hans Albers, director, legal management consulting, Deloitte Legal and Áine Lyons, SVP and deputy general counsel, VMware
- Part 2: Leadership skills for the GC
- Chapter 5: Leadership behaviors that distinguish great general counsel
- By Kenneth J Fredeen, managing partner, ZSA In-House
- Chapter 6: Best supporting act: how adaptive legal functions are embracing technology
- By Isabel Parker, executive director, The Digital Legal Exchange
- Chapter 7: Considerations on doing more with less: leading the lean legal department
- By Maja Fabula, deputy general counsel, Tenneco
- Chapter 8: Crisis prevention and crisis management in the company – how must the legal and communications departments act together?
- By Christian Lawrence, partner, Brunswick
- Chapter 9: Workforce management of the future: building virtual teams, hybrid, working and the workforce of the future
- By Robert Loef, group general counsel, Best Secret Group AG and Anne Meckbach, chief compliance officer, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE
- Part 3: Adding value and managing change
- Chapter 10: Environmental, social, and governance: how the GC and legal function can contribute to sustainability initiatives
- By E Leigh Dance, founder and executive director, Global Counsel Leaders
- Chapter 11: How to quantify the value creation in legal departments: a bolder approach to show the income side of legal work
- By Christoph H Vaagt, managing partner, Law Firm Change Consultants
- Chapter 12: Introduction of a case management system: a case study about how to manage change in a legal department
- By Wolf-Peter Gross, management consultant, Law Firm Change Consultants
Consulting Editors: Christoph H Vaagt and Wolf Peter Gross on behalf of the International Bar Association
| Contributing firm |
Author(s) |
| |
|
| Belgium |
|
| ELD International LLC |
E Leigh Dance |
| England |
|
| Eversheds |
Paul A Smith |
| Hinduja Bank (Switzerland) Ltd |
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay |
| Germany |
|
| Law Firm Change Consultants |
Christoph H Vaagt |
| |
Wolf-Peter Gross |
| Dennis Grabherr |
Dennis Grabherr |
| DMZ Legal |
Jochen Deister |
| Tools4Legal GmbH |
Felix Rackwitz |
| |
Filip Corveleyn |
| Xenion Legal |
Carsten Reimann |
| Italy |
|
| Paul Hastings LLP |
Bruno Cova |
| Netherlands |
|
| DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc |
Christian Rau |
| PGGM |
Max Hübner |
| Switzerland |
|
| BLR & Partners AG |
Peter Kurer |
| USA |
|
| Google Inc |
Kent Walker |
| Legal OnRamp |
Paul Lippe |
| Project Leadership Associates |
Scott Rosenberg |
| University of Connecticut School of Business |
Robert Bird |
| Yale School of Management |
Constance E Bagley |
Chris Vaagt and Wolf-Peter Gross have put together a remarkable book containing valuable perspectives and contributions on the opportunities and challenges we face, as well as on potential strategies to lead the change more effectively and efficiently.
Hergen Haas
General Counsel, Heraeus Group
