Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50877
CLOSING • A roundup of legal department news and trends Single Canadian securities regulator unlikely Even if all nine other provinces and three territories sign on to a single national security regula- tory system, Quebec will never go along with it, says constitutional expert Jean-François Gaudreault- DesBiens of the province's posi- tion. "The [Autorité des Marchés Financiers] is perceived as a sym- bol and not only as a mere regula- tor that you look at from a purely functional perspective," he says. "It is part of the Quiet Revolution, the economic side of the Quiet Revolution project. As such it has become a kind of a symbol." The remarks were part of a dis- cussion hosted by York University's Hennick Centre for Business and Law and Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto and included con- stitutional heavyweights Peter Hogg and retired Supreme Court of Canada justice John Major. Each Canadian province has its own securities regulator. There has long been a debate over a single system. Proponents of a national regulatory system say it would be more efficient for companies wish- ing to list on Canadian markets. Opponents say a new Ottawa- based system may be much slow- er than provincial ones. DuPont lands first ever A Call to Action Canada award A pair of cross-border counterparts from DuPont have been named the first ever winners of A Call to Action Canada's International Award for Promoting Diversity in the Legal Profession. Hinton J. Lucas, vice president and assistant general counsel of DuPont in the United States, and Kevin Derbyshire, general counsel of DuPont in Canada, were named as the first recipients of the award. The pair were recognized for "their unflagging support for A Call to Action Canada's initiatives on diversity and inclusiveness and in recognition of the DuPont Legal Model's emphasis on diversity." "We pick law firms of all sizes," says Derbyshire. "[A] commitment to diversity is one big criteria." A key is to work with law firms to help them promote diversity as well, says Lucas. "It is part of our partnership with firms, we try to help if there are problems with the firms," says Lucas. "We've been doing this for 17 years. We are happy to help firms that want to do this." The awards announcement was made in November in Toronto. A Call to Action Canada follows A Call to Action which was started in 2004 in the U.S. by chief legal officers. The goal is to support in-house counsel in their efforts to advance diversity in the legal profession. This includes insisting outside law firms demonstrate a true commitment to, and real progress in, the full participation and advancement of women and minority lawyers within their firms. Also, limiting or terminating relationships with outside law firms that demonstrate a lack of interest in, and commitment to, being diverse and inclusive. E-mail ideas and questions to: kharris@clbmedia.ca For weekly INHOUSE news and updates go to: www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse In-house lawyers want simple Internet solutions: survey A single access point to manage legal work and not a collection of law firm extranets is favoured by a major- ity of in-house lawyers, according to a recent survey looking at managing outside counsel. The 2009 Association of Corporate Counsel/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel survey found 51.3 per cent of those surveyed plan to adopt an Internet-based system to work with outside counsel. The survey also found vendor-hosted systems run by legal departments are replacing extra- nets hosted by law firms. "In-house counsel want a single online system where they can manage all of their legal work directly with all of their outside counsel worldwide, not a maze of different law firm extranets or internal systems that don't connect with outside counsel," says Serengeti Law's Rob Thomas, who authored the survey report. "The latest online 50 • DECEMBER 2009/JANUARY 2010 INHOUSE matter-management/e-billing systems give in-house counsel a practical way not only to track their spending and results, but also to evaluate the rela- tive value provided by their outside counsel." The survey found the top priority for in-house lawyers was managing outside counsel costs. This replaced compliance issues which had been the top concern for in-house counsel during the past three years.