Measuring legal expenses as a percentage of the company`s revenue can show how changes in management or department operations can affect if legal fees slow down or increase relative to revenues equal to those of the company. T-Mobile US Inc. has hired Mark Nelson, an antitrust partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, to succeed former general counsel David Miller, who served as a strategic advisor before his planned retirement next year. Microchip manufacturers Micron Technology Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. have also appointed new legal executives, Robert Beard and Robert Mobassaly, respectively. The financial services sector – long one of the most lucrative sectors in terms of total compensation for top in-house lawyers – dominated the legal department`s movements in 2021. « Promoting true ethnic diversity and inclusion in advocacy requires focusing on multiple areas, » Price says, noting the « disproportionate under-representation of black men from less socially mobile backgrounds in large commercial law firms and other urban institutions. » Deutsche Bank AG has approached internal veteran John Farry to succeed Joseph Salama as General Counsel for the Americas. Salama, who succeeded Steven Reich last year, became head of Deutsche Bank for Anti-Money Laundering this summer.
UBS Group AG has appointed Barbara Levi, a former senior lawyer at Rio Tinto PLC, as group general counsel. The Swiss bank also saw that long-time in-house lawyer Andrew Hollenbeck left this year to become chief legal officer at Soros Fund Management. Revell says there is « quite a bit of myth » around the idea that the typical internal role is nine to five. « This is massively exaggerated. Factors that lead lawyers to consider in-house are usually the desire for a more organized and predictable work style. Elsewhere in the industry, spirits company Diageo PLC has hired Linklaters partner Tom Shropshire to succeed its retired general counsel, Siobhán Moriarty, while Molson Coors Beverage Co. has recruited Anne-Marie D`Angelo of NiSource Inc. as attorney and premier. The Hershey Co. has promoted James Turoff to his prominent legal position, replacing the late Damien Atkins. The new company Utz Brands Inc. has won the position of General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to Theresa Robbins Shea.
However, there is a limit to the type of work that non-lawyers can support. Smith says frequent developments in industry standards or regulations make it difficult to share technical work with non-lawyer support teams. For them, the « right to close » provision, which comes into force in Canada in June and is already in force in some European countries, is an important step. While details vary by jurisdiction, this provision generally requires employers not to contact employees outside of working hours. « Colleagues can legally turn off after 5 p.m., » says Sidhu. Tata Communications A team dedicated to the legal operations of the Indian telecommunications company has set up automation tools, legal admission and analysis applications, an in-house team to manage high-volume legal processes and a review of the contractual process. Focusing on a wide range of small initiatives allowed the team to deliver results quickly. Alongside this guide for a novice business lawyer, it is about developing an in-depth knowledge of the sector in which he enters, outside the legal field. It is important to do this early, as time may be short in the future. It seems obvious, but many business consultants are raising their hands and admit that they are lacking in this area. This can be a steep learning curve, but payment is clear later when an assessment of the real impact can make the difference between the success or failure of legal advice.
« Take the time to talk to the players who will implement the chords you`ve designed and get a glimpse of what that means, » Kher Sheng said. « A legal contract is very similar to a battle plan. We all know what happens when a battle plan doesn`t stand up to scrutiny by the time the shooting begins – so roll up your sleeves and get involved in the shootout or at least get a glimpse of the ring. This was the experience of Kate Smith (not her real name), an in-house lawyer at a bank in London. « While in-house lawyers get a lot of training in coding and data analytics, there`s not really a practical application of this automation on our side of the company, » she says. Bring the in-house legal team and other teams together on a single platform and give them access to legal systems. They can inform themselves and check progress to get insight into the progress of their business. Two others – Phillips 66 and 3M Co. – are looking for new legal directors. Here is a simple checklist that can help you define strategic OKRs for your legal department: *Winner of the 2022 FT Innovative Lawyers Award for « The Most Innovative In-House Legal Team in Asia Pacific »; Other organizations are listed alphabetically For companies that filed a lawsuit with senior management in 2021, it meant growing up or going home. Activision Blizzard Inc., a competitive video game giant, has hired former Boeing Co. general counsel Grant Dixton to replace its retired chief legal officer Christopher Walther.
Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna Inc. was looking for Shannon Thyme Klinger, the rival drugmaker Novartis AG, for its new chief legal officer. Novartis, for its part, hired Karen Hale of AbbVie Inc. to be its best lawyer after briefly appointing an interim replacement. But having fewer pencils may be the last thing a new in-house lawyer thinks about when they`ve been hired to form a legal team. Many have reported that without the moral support of a large group of law firm lawyers or a large in-house team, the only management consultant can be a lonely position. A universal tip for new in-house lawyers is not to be afraid to proactively build a network of other in-house lawyers. Joanne Low, head of legal affairs and compliance at RRJ, a Hong Kong-based private equity fund, says: « There will be someone in a similar situation who has experienced something you are experiencing now. » Another Hong Kong-based fund lawyer, Kher Sheng Lee, agrees and offers this advice: « Even if you don`t have an established network, there really isn`t a law or rule that doesn`t just prohibit calling people. Get a recommendation, get an introduction to call people if necessary – just introduce yourself. « He started emailing other business consultants in his industry to socialize.
This approach has now led to a regular network that meets to discuss legal and industrial developments and provide informal support. The legal team established an « inclusion challenge » with a series of videos, questions and follow-up discussions to create an understanding of a range of diversity and inclusion issues and to strengthen engagement within the team after the pandemic began. The team used change management software that uses neuroscience principles to drive behavior change, and that Accenture uses with its external clients. Nearly 1,000 lawyers participated, and the program increased participation in other initiatives such as Accenture`s LGBT+ alliance program.