By Julia Hayhoe The Lawyer’s Business Leadership Series explores, among other themes, how the dramatic acceleration of macro trends has placed Purpose, Sustainability and ESG issues top of the corporate board, general counsel and increasingly legal provider agenda. We have created a series of GC interviews, to inform the event series and the webinar I […]
A highlight of the challenges arising from the increased use of collaboration and messaging tools by employees in remote-work environments.
Most technologies have a wide range of capabilities, but often the actual uptake of those capabilities in-house is quite low, and tools tend to be used at a very basic level. How can you better leverage the increased capabilities of the different systems you have in place? How do you develop something a bit more challenging, a bit more cutting edge? “Having a legal tech strategy is key” This webinar is the third and final step of the transformation journey we explored during the event and looks at what comes after you’re done with picking the low-hanging fruit. The panel, made of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner partner Jonathan Morris, VEON associate general counsel, legal chief of staff and chief legal information officer Charlie Clinch and Banco Santander head of legal for technology and legal transformation Gloria Sánchez Soriano, talked all things tech: having the right strategy in place and why that is important, looking at the bigger picture, repurposing tech, legal analytics and the right time for moving on to something new.
Doing things more efficiently So, what do you do once your house is in order, you have the right people in your team and your processes have all been transformed? You start looking at the technology of course. This webinar represents step 2 of the transformation journey we explored at the event and was led by Onit managing director Robert Johnson, who was joined by Johnson Matthey general counsel Kate Danson, Schlumberger former general counsel for legal shared services Kevin van Tonder and Duff & Phelps managing director Nadine Stuttle. The session focuses on the approaches legal departments should take to leverage technology in order to drive savings, with the panel sharing experiences and advice around setting priorities, the drivers behind digitalisation, bringing your team along for the journey and measuring success.
“Making transformation fun and something everyone can be part of” Day 3 of the summit kicked off with step 1 of an in-house team’s transformation journey: the #TheNoTechSession, where OakNorth Bank’s Fabien Bonavia, Gilead Sciences’ Claire Eldridge, The Norinchukin Bank’s Ann Doan, Vodafone’s Amy McConnell and Lockton’s Sam Clark talk about people, processes and getting your house in order. A piece of recurring advice throughout the session was to start your transformation journey by thinking about the problems you are trying to solve: use a whiteboard and some sticky notes and start mapping everything – and most importantly “don’t be afraid to get it wrong, you haven’t taken any decisions yet!”. Have regular catchups with your business colleagues, make yourself visible and “human” and allow yourself to become more approachable. “Lawyers are not known for their lack of confidence” Claire Eldrige explains, which can be intimidating for business colleagues. If possible, have an intermediary team or person, such as legal ops, that can bridge that gap between Legal and the business. Fill in the form now, to learn more about the advice the 5 speakers have to share.
Being a purposeful company also means putting people first. How can your organisation become a place where employees thrive, not just survive and get on with work? “Prevention is better than cure” In this interview, Simply Business general counsel Joanne Theodoulou together with Bupa group legal director Janet McCarthy talk about “looking after ourselves and each other”. The discussion starts by acknowledging that we are not used to thinking about our mental health in quite the same way we do about our physical health, and that most of us can’t recognise the signs until they manifest in a physical way. The visual concept of Joanne’s “stress bucket”, where the capacity of the bucket is your capacity to deal with stress, and therefore limited is particularly interesting. The key take-away? We need to start paying attention to what is going into that bucket and how to control it.
As a legal function, understanding what your purpose is versus what your role is can be difficult, as the line between the two is often blurred. Your purpose as a team is partly shaped by the GC and partly shaped by the organisation and can impact the strategy you have in place to support the business. So, what does the legal team’s strategy and purpose look like and what role does the GC play in setting this up? “Purpose is not a luxury, but a necessity” This case study, delivered by the head of legal operations consulting for Norton Rose Fulbright Stéphanie Hamon and general counsel and company secretary at The Crown Estate Rob Booth, looks at how The Crown Estate defined its purpose and strategy. At the start, Rob warns viewers that there is no silver bullet for this, and defining your purpose and strategy is one of the most profound things you will do as a leader.
“The biggest peacetime decision in world sport” This session explores how lawyers’ roles, stakeholder relationships and ways of working are evolving as they support the global sports movement through the Covid-19 crisis. This specific case study features International Olympic Committee vice-president of legal and business affairs Kevin Groome sharing what it means to be a lawyer working in the sports industry in the current climate and his team’s role in the “biggest peacetime decision in world sport” – the rescheduling of the Olympic Games.
“The strongman leadership model needs to go” This panel discussion expertly delivered by The Crown Estate general counsel Rob Booth, asks the 4 speakers to make a case for what they would “consign to room 101” in terms of how legal teams operate today. DWF’s Stewart Room, Kirsty Rogers, Jonathan Patterson and Hilary Ross take turns to make a case for “lawyers being just legal specialists”, “the lack of complaints being a key measure of good culture”, “technology as a silver bullet“ and “the ‘Strongman’ leadership model” respectively. The winning argument, as voted by the audience at the GC Summit, was Hilary’s case for how the strongman leadership model is actually creating a culture of fear and how pigeonholing roles and people should be left in the past. Watch the session now and see if you agree!
Our latest 60-second interview with Lex Mundi president and CEO Helena Samaha looks at diversity in the legal sector, the benefits we are already seeing and the challenges still left to tackle. The legal sector is notorious for a lack of diversity, but this is slowly changing. What benefits are we seeing already? There are […]
Lighthouse business development director EMEA Matt Bicknell talks to The Lawyer about how in today’s remote environment, cloud based collaboration tools are not just desirable but a necessity – but also the challenges they pose for ediscovery processes. What is the driving force behind the massive migration to cloud-based environments over the last few years? […]
Join this free to attend virtual roundtable for a discussion around the risks and compliance challenges arising from our change in working practices.