Staying at the top table

You may have made it to the top of the in-house team, but there is still some way to go to get to the boardroom. Senior in-house lawyers gathered at the martindale-Hubbell Counsel to Counsel forum in September to discuss how heads of legal can raise the profile and impact of lawyers within the business.

In-house lawyers must confront risks and put their opinions on the line if they want to reach the top table. This was the conclusion of the in-house lawyers as they discussed how to reach and stay on the company board. The majority view was that in-house lawyers must not shy away from risk but face it head-on if they want to be valued by the business. 'Sitting on the fence' will do nothing but test the patience of the executive.

"Our line managers take risks every day and we should be part of that risk," one legal director said. "We cannot sit on the fence and say 'it is your problem now'."

If business colleagues know that the lawyers will be decisive and offer solutions to their problems the communication channels will stay open. If, however, they come to expect little practical help they will stop asking questions. And a more commercial approach brings rewards on a personal level.

"If you are given calls and make them well, you will get more calls to make and that is the enjoyment of the job," said Geoffrey Timms, group head of legal at Legal & General and co-chair of the forum.

It is a pre-requisite for those who want to be taken seriously within the company that they are in the thick of the business so that they can see the wider picture. It was the overwhelming view of the 20 in-house counsel who gathered for the forum that a lawyer of any level cannot advise the company properly if he or she is outside the boardroom waiting for instructions. Inclusion in discussions is vital.

Any legal function that looks and acts like an administration back office will be treated like one, the lawyers warned.

Christopher Pikett, general manager of legal affairs at technology group 3M United Kingdom, said: "You know when you are getting it right. If you are left out of conversations in the corridor, you are getting it wrong."

Getting your voice heard is key. One head of legal and company secretary said that the lawyer responsible for legal services should also be the company secretary, thereby receiving an automatic right to sit with the board. To be a worthwhile member of the board and a useful contributor to discussions, lawyers cannot confine themselves to legal expertise. Knowledge of both the business and the wider financial markets is essential, delegates said.

This goes for the entire legal function. Secondments to the business operations are one useful method of improving the lawyers' knowledge of the business and management courses can ease the transfer from private practice to commerce and industry.

An appreciation of the inevitable company politics is also a bonus, although straying into the political games is unacceptable and dangerous. There was, however, a voice against the general view. One legal director felt that a possible consequence of becoming too involved with the business was losing sight of the need to 'rise above the company' and give an independent view.

"There is merit in the legal function sitting alone and rising above the business to advise," said Edward Peppiatt, legal director at Christian Salvesen.

"Lawyers outside the central function in particular can find that they get too close to the individual business units and end up being torn between their loyalty to that unit and their overriding duty to the group as a whole."

One positive by-product of being close to the business is the consequent rise in profile of the in-house function and the value that the business places on it.

Despite their responsibilities, lawyers feel short-changed on the appreciation front. Some delegates reported that non-legal colleagues viewed them as 'just lawyers' - this is a marked difference to the US culture where lawyers generally have far higher stature in the business.

Being valued and recognised as a vital part of the business is something that is close to the heart of in-house lawyers. Not least from the aspect of job security. "Show value or it is terminal," said one legal director, mindful of the torrent of job cuts hitting companies on a global scale at the moment.

But delegates agreed that taking a few practical steps can increase the perceived value of lawyers within the business. A codified career structure can prove an invaluable way of putting the legal team on the map in terms of the rest of the company, including the human resources department.

Some in-house counsel favoured time sheets as a way of persuading the company that they can get good quality and economically sound advice without instructing external lawyers. But the majority view was that time sheets go against the grain of the in-house lawyer. Cost savings need not be limited to legal services, but can extend to the business divisions, said one head of legal.

One director of legal services said: "We [the lawyers] are uniquely placed to look for efficiency savings across the business in all of the functions we advise." And when time and resources are short, full advantage should be taken of the company's external advisers to add value. "We are only as good as our network of experts," said one.

The key is to find a select number of individual lawyers and to invest time in creating a two-way relationship. A network of external lawyers who will give quick, informed advice at times of urgency. The clear message was that it takes time to find the right chemistry and in-house lawyers have to put effort into the process. But delegates appeared singularly unimpressed with the services on offer from external advisers.

"I am shocked by the level of service of City lawyers and I do not know how they get away with it," said one head of legal.

Another reported difficulty in finding a trusted external lawyer, to the extent that it was "time consuming and soul destroying". Effective knowledge management is another key area that can make the lawyers look good to their business colleagues.

Delegates agreed that in this respect they should tap into external firms' financial and technical resources to provide up-to-date advice and client briefings. A final method of raising profile and value is by having a happy and effective team. Employee development is recognised by most general counsel as a top priority.

Gwyn Price, managing counsel of American Express Europe and co-chair of the forum, carries out employee surveys twice a year to assess what the individual lawyers want and the overall development of the team.

Last year Price said that the lawyers identified people, employee development, quality of work, integrity and meritocracy as the key factors in determining their job satisfaction. Price uses the results of the survey to work on individual development plans for his lawyers ensuring that each is treated individually, but all equally in terms of diversity of work and exposure to senior management. He said: "A major part of my job is managing the workloads, performance reviews and satisfaction levels of the lawyers in our team.

"It has to be made a part of day-to-day activities, rather than being left to a single discussion at the end of the year. The process is quite labour-intensive and obviously has little to do with practising law, but it is a crucial part of being able to deliver excellent performance to the businesses we serve," he added.

Once you have made it to the top, the ultimate question for a successful in-house lawyer is 'Where can I go now?' And when working at a level below a general counsel who has no intention of leaving, what are the options for moving up the corporate ladder?

It was the general view of the delegates at the forum that a sideways move into business was a natural next step. They agreed that the lure of business can also be a strong selling point when enticing people from the high salaries of private practice. But opinions were divided on whether this is a good thing for the legal function.

Some said that with the recruitment market so tough in the last 12 months - one legal director reported a search for a junior lawyer that had lasted nine months to date - it rankles to lose those you value most to business. But others viewed it from a different angle: "If you bring in talented people who are wanted by your business colleagues, that is good recognition of your worth," said one general counsel.