Worldwide, regulatory or government changes are the most concerning issue keeping chief legal officers (CLO) and general counsel (GC) up at night, and the proportion of CLOs who rank proactively addressing legal and regulatory trends as a top area where they add value has increased 38 percentage points since 2013, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) CLO 2018 Survey reported.
Geopolitical Change and Evolving Regulatory Climate Drives age of the Chief Legal Officer, ACC report finds
Worldwide, regulatory or government changes are the most concerning issue keeping chief legal officers (CLO) and general counsel (GC) up at night, and the proportion of CLOs who rank proactively addressing legal and regulatory trends as a top area where they add value has increased 38 percentage points since 2013, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) CLO 2018 Survey reported.
The professional stature and influence of the CLO’s position has grown in light of the prevalence of geopolitical events and heightened regulatory landscape, according to the survey. The CLO reporting structure is an important indicator of influence on the company and the CLO’s role in creating a corporate culture that reinforces ethics and integrity.
“With so many geopolitical issues, the challenges facing businesses today are much more complex, and boards are facing greater accountability and pressure to understand their company’s appetite for risk,” said Veta T. Richardson, president and CEO of ACC. “Thus, a well-positioned CLO and legal team can solidify a corporate culture that prioritises ethics, compliance, and other legal risk considerations. The survey’s findings further emphasise that 2018 is the age of the CLO.”
Taking the pulse of 1,275 CLOs and GCs in 48 countries, the ACC CLO 2018 Survey also found that data breaches and the protection of corporate data is the fastest growing area of concern as 36 percent of CLOs rated it extremely important in the year ahead, compared with 19 percent in 2014.
Other notable findings in the ACC CLO 2018 Survey include:
- Contract management is the top area where CLOs use technology for efficiency.
- Nearly half of all respondents (47%) anticipate their company will be engaged in a merger or acquisition in the year ahead.
- The majority of CLOs globally (56%) expect an increase to their department’s overall budget, compared with 43 percent last year. Inside spend allocation rose from 53 percent to 56 percent.
- Sixty-three percent of law departments use a combination of hourly billing rates and alternative fee arrangements, compared with 42 percent who utilised blended rates in 2016.
- Complex litigation is the most common type of work outsourced to a law firm, followed by patent services and eDiscovery.
Click here to access the Executive Summary of the ACC CLO 2018 Survey. Or, visit www.acc.com/closurvey to purchase the full report.
