Law departments across the globe will need to manage a number of issues in order to successfully navigate the challenges they face today and in the future.
To understand the driving forces behind the evolving role of the CLO and of corporate legal departments, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) reached out to 9,600 indi- viduals. Survey results reflect data* from more than 1,200 individuals in 41 countries who serve as the organization’s chief legal officer or general counsel (referred to as the CLO in this report). From roles and responsibilities to salaries, skills and work environments, the study explored a broad range of topics.
New this year is a comparative analysis of the data from the 2013 and 2014 survey results, thereby addressing current trends facing law departments.
Tasked with managing the legal and ethical complexities related to growing their businesses, the role of the chief legal officer (CLO) continues to evolve. Today, CLOs frequently serve as key members of senior management teams, sharing responsibility for the development of business strategies that support overall growth. It is not uncommon to find the CLO directly involved in decision-making regarding evaluating new business opportunities, budgeting, hiring practices, technology, process management and change management.
This study explores the changing role of the general counsel by documenting its evolution and predicting the skill sets that will be required for future general counsel to be successful. Central themes to this skill set include the ability to place legal issues in a larger business context, embrace risk and make decisions, communicate with business partners in language they can relate to, and work seamlessly with the executive team and the board of directors to make productive decisions about operations and strategy, which has become increasingly global in scope. The report includes an executive summary, key findings, interview excerpts and the methodology.
The ACC & Laurence Simons EMEA Legal Department Survey 2013 builds on previous research, confirming established trends and revealing new ones. As the economic downturn continues to bite across Europe and company executives, including general counsel and heads of legal, look to respond accordingly. This is having a clear impact on the way legal departments are managing their workloads, budgets and are being staffed. In particular, company executives, are on the whole looking to respond to increasing pressures of cost containment — to continue to do more with less.
This report presents results on a subset of respondents from the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO) 2013 Survey, published in January 2013. A total of 1,104 individuals from 36 countries participated in this survey to provide a global outlook of CLOs worldwide. This report provides results and analysis of respondents from Canada (n=50) as well as demographic information, such as staffing, budget changes, revenue and more, while also exploring intangibles such as CCLOs’ top legal and business concerns for the past 12 months and their anticipations for the future.
Law departments across the globe will need to manage a number of issues in order
to successfully navigate the challenges they face today and in the future.
Law departments across the globe will need to manage a number of issues in order
to successfully navigate the challenges they face today and in the future.
Representing 1,104 CLOs and general counsel from 36 countries, the ACC Chief Legal Officers 2013 Survey provides an unbiased and in-depth analysis of the highest ranking lawyers in corporate legal departments—reviewing their top concerns for the past 12 months, today, and into the future, and a prioritization of their business issues.
The Association of Corporate Counsel and Laurence Simons surveyed corporate legal departments to learn more about their teams in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The ACC/Laurence Simons 2012 EMEA Legal Department Survey is available to members and non-members.