Extract from Petra Pasternak’s article “How In-House Legal Moves Center Stage”
Too many in-house legal professionals are still being shut out of high-level strategic business meetings. This diminishes not just their standing with leaders and internal colleagues, but the impact they have on the success of the business.
Nearly half of legal professionals (47%) are brought into key initiatives after strategic decisions have already been made, according to “The State of Collaboration in Corporate Legal Departments,” Everlaw’s recent survey of nearly 400 CLOs, GCs, in-house counsel, and legal ops professionals.
The U.S. survey, conducted with the Association of Corporate Counsel, found that three of five (58%) respondents say that other business departments see the legal team as a blocker to projects, and two in five (41%) as unwilling to take on enough risk. A reputation like that doesn’t get you invited to the next high-level planning meeting.
The most successful have cultivated a mindset that is rooted in a team mentality and focused on business growth. It calls for getting out of the legal department to build relationships and rapport throughout the organization.
We’ve put together a list of three important steps that help break the negative cycle.
