Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50882
EDITOR'S BOX By Andi Balla INHOUSE Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer Editorial Director: Gail J. Cohen Editor: Andi Balla Staff Writer: Robert Todd Copy Editor: Heather Gardiner Art Director: Bill Hunter Account Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles Advertising Sales Representatives Legal Suppliers: Kimberlee Pascoe Tel: (905) 713-4342 E-mail: kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com Law Firms: Karen Lorimer Tel: (905) 713-4339 E-mail: karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Sales Co-ordinator: Sandy Shutt Tel: (905) 713-4337 E-mail: sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com Canadian Lawyer InHouse is published 6 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9 (905) 841-6480 Fax: (905) 727-0017. Web: www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse LinkedIN Group: www.goo.gl/9tytr Editorial advisory board: Robin Brudner, MLSE Ltd.; Sanjeev Dhawan, Hydro One Networks Inc.; Kari Horn, Alberta Securities Commission; Jonathan Lau, TVO; Janis Vanderburgh, York Region Rapid Transit Corp. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer InHouse disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, com- pleteness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement #40766500 ISSN 1921-9563 Copyright © 2011 H.S.T. Registration #R121349799 To subscribe Call 1-888-743-3551 x4392 or e-mail Jacquie Clancy at jacquie.clancy@thomsonreuters.com RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 240 EDWARD ST., AURORA, ON L4G 3S9 Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse When lawyers run the show is particularly surprising because so many Canadian prime ministers have been lawyers since the good old days of Sir John A. Macdonald. What is going on? Are Canadian lawyers becoming shy of stepping into the limelight of leadership? I don't think that's the case. It is simply a hiatus that gives econo- mists and academics a chance to run the country. But if politics are not what they used I to be for lawyer leadership, the business arena is seeing lawyers increasingly rise through the corporate ranks, past the usual legal advisory roles, and up to the CEO's office. Lawyers are more and more successfully managing businesses across Canada, as our cover story, "In the big chair," points out on page 18. For a magazine that caters to an in-house counsel audience, it is interesting to note that lawyers who rose to the top took different paths to get there. In some cases, it did not even involve the company's legal department. The bot- tom line is that in business, as in politics, being a lawyer is a big plus in leadership. The knowledge, experience, and critical thinking that come with the study and practice of law seem perfectly suited for chief executives. Anne Giardini, who rose to be CEO of lumber giant Weyerhaeuser Co.'s Canadian subsidiary after serving as its general counsel, spoke at a recent Toronto panel I attended about the transition to t was interesting to see that law- yers were absent from the lineup of the top candidates running to be Canada's prime minister in the latest federal elections. This the CEO office. She advises lawyer CEOs to resist the urge to get involved in day- to-day operations of the legal department. You need to strike a balance, she said, and let the in-house counsel do their jobs. Another type of balance is trying to be struck in matters of free trade when it comes to the complicated process of gaining access to public procurement in an international setting, the subject of our feature on page 24, "Trading with procurements." We often focus on pro- curements at municipalities because a lot of procurement work ends up being local, as local companies are better able to com- pete in price and understand local needs. But the issue of international access to procurements is also very important. Because they often involve huge sums in public funding, procurements are a touchy subject. Add cross-border politics into the mix, and they become very com- plicated. So trying to write access to pro- curements into international free-trade agreements, as Canada and the European Union are currently trying to do, is not an easy matter, but it in the end it could end up being beneficial to all parties involved. This issue of Canadian Lawyer InHouse is filled with other interesting articles — from a look at whether Canada is doing enough to enforce its anti-bribery laws abroad (page 30) to exploring the impact on the mining industry of the proposed mega merger of the Toronto and London stock exchanges (page 33). As always, don't forget to check out our exclusive web content, and do not hesitate to contact us with ideas and feed- back. IH Send your news and story ideas to andi.balla@thomsonreuters.com INHOUSE JUNE 2011 • 3