Another potential assignment for a general counsel: run the quality functions

The general counsel of Winn-Dixie Stores, Timothy Williams, has responsibility “for management of all legal, governance, risk and compliance, and quality systems functions.” The final responsibility – quality systems functions – stands out. I have written amply about the wide scope of functions various general counsel oversee (See my post of March 24, 2011: Anheuser-Busch InBev and “corporate affairs.), but haven’t paid much attention to quality functions. By the way, the insight into Winn-Dixie comes from Corp. Counsel, April 2011 at 44.

No less than Microsoft, however, has a similar mix (See my post of Jan. 18, 2011: Legal & Corporate Affairs.). The combination may be more common in Europe (See my post of Aug. 8, 2006: survey data on corporate affairs; and Nov. 7, 2007: Red Hat law department includes two people who handle corporate affairs.).

So, why not add in Lean Sigma or TQM or quality assurance activities to the chief legal officer’s portfolio?