Smart Collaboration for In-house Legal Teams

Law › Legal Profession

Smart Collaboration for In-house Legal Teams

By Dr Heidi K Gardner
Globe Law and Business April 2020

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781787423503
Publisher
Globe Law and Business
Publication
April 2020
Format
Paperback , 103 pages
Jurisdiction
International ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

In-house legal teams are under more pressure than ever to add value to their organisations. This Special Report combines the rigour of Harvard research with a pragmatic focus based on input from hundreds of General Counsels, in-house lawyers, CEOs and board members to show why and how legal teams work across silos – what we call ‘Smart Collaboration.’ It includes the business case, practical tips, case studies and tools to help legal teams master the four essential ‘vectors’ of collaboration:

  1. Within legal: the full potential of legal and non-legal talent. Rethink hiring and onboarding. Collaborate across countries and cultures. Elevate leadership skills and engineer work to make time for collaboration.
  2. With the business: create more innovative, strategic solutions by partnering with business leaders. Proactively engage with the board and c-suite to deliver value.
  3. Across functions: integrate with other departments (Finance, R&D, HR, etc.) to create more holistic solutions that capture opportunities, lower risk, and improve the employee and customer experience.
  4. Externally: co-develop solutions to shape regulatory agendas and inform public discourse. Maximise value with outside counsel and other third-party legal providers.

Vetted by dozens of General Counsel and in-house lawyers, this report will benefit all members of in-house legal teams and those who work with them (eg, executives, heads of other corporate functions, recruiters and consultants). Partners and leaders in law firms will also gain from a deeper understanding of their clients’ operations and aspirations.

Table of Contents

Figures
Tables
I. Introduction
1. The four vectors
2. Research methodology, confidentiality and terminology
3. In this Special Report
II. The case for collaboration
1. Benefits of in-house legal teams’ collaboration across all four vectors
III. Real and perceived obstacles to collaboration
1. Barriers
2. Closing thoughts on barriers
IV. Building collaboration within the in-house legal team
1. From vision to strategy
2. Hiring collaborative talent
3. External hires – the three stages
4. Collaborating across geographic divides
5. Building leadership skills
6. Making time for collaboration
7. Closing thoughts on collaboration within the team
V. Smart collaboration with business executives
1. Earn a seat at the strategy table
2. Claim your seat at the strategy table and use it effectively
3. Build two kinds of trust
4. Concluding thoughts: collaborate by building relationships
VI. Smart collaboration between Legal and other corporate functions
1. Proactively build relationships – while the pressure is lower
2. Paths to building cross-functional relationships
3. Explore others’ perspectives
4. Building the bridge
5. Smart Collaboration for In-house Legal Teams
6. From responder to thought partner
VII. Smart collaboration with external stakeholders
1. Degree of joint experience
2. Collaborating with outside counsel, including law firms and ALSPs
3. Collaborating with regulators
4. Collaborating with legal team counterparts in other organisations
5. Closing thoughts: collaborating outside the company
VIII. Smart collaboration: the ongoing opportunity
1. The ‘dark side’ of collaboration: an over-committed organisation
2. Final thoughts
Notes
Figures:
Figure 1. Four vectors of collaboration for in-house legal teams
Figure 2. Benefits of cross-domain collaboration
Figure 3. Business outcomes of employee engagement
Figure 4. Collaboration and performance – added value from smart collaboration
Figure 5. The reinforcing cycle of collaboration benefits
Figure 6. Barriers to collaboration for in-house legal teams
Figure 7. Collaboration and external hires – two paths
Figure 8. Three-stage process for external hiring
Figure 9. Multi-tiered benefits of role-based competency grids
Figure 10. Preference gap between giving and receiving feedback
Figure 11. Leader’s reaction to subordinate’s good news
Figure 12. How CEOs view Legal: cost vs. value-add
Figure 13. The Trust Staircase
Figure 14. From responder to thought partner
Figure 15. Avoiding the performance pressure trap
Figure 16. Smart collaboration with external actors: degree of prior joint experience
Figure 17. The danger zone
Figure 18. Measure it: collaboration across many teams
Tables

About the Author

Dr Heidi K Gardner - Harvard Law School

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