Make “risk management decisions” inside, buy product or process legal services

The calculus of what to do in-house (what to make) and what to send to outside counsel (what to buy) has many, many solutions. Usually one hears about keeping “strategic” work inside and sending “commodity” work outside. (I often suspect the opposite holds more truth.)

David Krasnostein, the General Counsel of Australia’s National Australia Bank, explains in an article that he, having completed a study of what work is handled internally and what is outsourced, developed a different slant. He wants his staff to “focus more on the most value-adding part of our business, which is legal risk management, and outsource work that is more product or process orientated.” (See my post of Aug. 14, 2005 chaffing those who bandy about the term “risk management.”) “Strategic” work, perhaps, is managing legal risks, but getting the contracts done still has solid value.