For over 20 years, ACC’s flagship study of insights from Chief Legal Officers (CLOs) and General Counsel (GC) has contributed decisively to ACC’s core purpose of advancing the interests of the in-house legal profession by providing crucial, high-quality data on the state of the corporate legal department.
The survey offers a number of rare insights into the effect of legal on business. The data give new perspectives on organizational structure and the responsibilities of the legal department; the depth of the CLO’s interactions with, and influence on, business executives and the board of directors; the most pressing business concerns for in-house counsel; and the trends that will affect the profession in the near future. Importantly, while this report includes insights on the legal department from the perspective of CLOs, all in-house counsel will benefit from the data.
The report contains four main sections. First, we present data on the role and reach of CLOs, including reporting structure, responsibilities, and the scope of the legal department. Second, we take a deeper look at the legal department’s value to the business by mapping the influence of the CLO on business strategy and decision-making. Third, we offer insights on CLOs’ experience with political and regulatory changes. Finally, we consider the future of the legal department, specifically the effect that enterprise digital transformation is already having in the in-house profession, and what other new challenges lie ahead.
A full report is available for download for members through the ACC Australia website. Or for more information, please email ausmembership@acc.com
