Not uncommonly, a general counsel has responsibility for the government affairs – lobbying – functions of a company (See my post of Aug. 27, 2005 about Microsoft). So long as that GC has the time and ability to manage the function, perhaps it is fine. Otherwise, or in any case,…
A report by the Association of Corporate Counsel brought to light two law departments, John Deere and Nokia, where the lawyers who serve operating units report to the head of the unit, as well as to the general counsel by a “functional, dotted-line report.” “Leading Practices in Job Titles for…
A total of 12 HR lawyers (eight in the US) work directly with Intel’s Human Resources department and report to the Vice President of Human Resources, not to Intel’s general counsel (InsideCounsel, Feb. 2006 at 46). One could use the same arguments to assign other lawyers: patent lawyers to the…
The critics of structures where lawyers report to the head of a business unit – decentralized reporting – stress the risk of those lawyers’ loss of independence. The pressure to please your boss, the allegiance the lawyer feels toward their business, the bonus that depends on the business meeting its…
Booz Allen calls them “organizational DNA” according to Consulting, Vol. 7, Nov./Dec. 2005 at 36. Structure – the most visible, such as where people are located and to whom do they report. Decisions right – where does the buck stop and who can call the coin toss. Information – metrics…
Unilever, with its “500 strong global legal department,” has appointed lead counsel for its three regions – Europe, Asia and North America (Legal Week, Feb. 9, 2006). Along with its regional reporting structure for lawyers, I assume there are also specialty functions, such as HR and litigation. If there are…
Ron Friedman, the thoughtful author of Prism Legal, took issue with my post (Feb. 5, 2006) about proximity of lawyers on the same floor dramatically boosting interaction. I don’t agree with his [Rees Morrison’s] conclusion that companies should keep their lawyers on the same floor. If proximity matters so much,…
In its massive study of 73 internationally active financial institutions, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported in Protecting the Brand (May 2005) on “areas of potential interaction with the compliance function.” (See my post of Feb. 7, 2006 on the reporting lines of these compliance functions.) The report lists seven areas (at 49) of…
A “multi-national” law department has lawyers based in more than one country. One country has the largest portion, and that country and location is thought of as headquarters. Many large US companies have multi-national law departments. An “international” law department is multi-national, but some of its groups of lawyers are…
What is a typical ratio, in law departments of more than 10 or 15 lawyers, between the legal specialists (aka functions) like those handling litigation, HR, bankruptcy, environmental issues, securities, and IP, and the legal generalists who support a business unit or geographic region? At the BBC, according to LegalWeek,…