All law departments think they are unique

All general counsel know in their heart-of-hearts that their department stands alone. They and they alone, face peculiar challenges with rare configurations and facts. At the same time, they yearn to find out and apply what other law departments are doing, especially in their industry. Schizophrenia?

One question to honestly ask yourself when thinking about applying benchmark metrics and management practices to your department should be: “What facts about my department actually make it unusual in comparison to my peers?” The fewer of those facts, the more you can learn from the experiences of other law departments. Also, the fewer of those facts, the less you have to hide behind, declaring defensively, “But we’re different!”