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Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1183528
www.canadianlawyermag.com 39 IN WHAT SECTOR IS YOUR COMPANY/ORGANIZATION? 15.33% Government (municipal, regional, provincial, federal and First Nations – including boards and tribunals) 9.49% Professional services 21.90% Financial 11.68% Industry/manufacturing (including life sciences, food production and automotive) 11.68% Natural resources based (including energy) 3.65% Service and/or retail 8.03% Technology 6.57% Non-profit or academic institutions 11.68% Other HOW MANY LAWYERS ARE THERE IN YOUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT? 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2 to 5 6 to 15 1 16 to 30 51 to 100 More than 100 31 to 50 33.58% 23.36% 22.63% 8.03% 5.84% 4.38% 2.19% DID THE SIZE OF YOUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT CHANGE OVER THE PAST YEAR? No change It grew It shrank We filled positions previously left vacant 45.26% 32.12% 13.87% 13.87% WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES IN YOUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT? Listed in order of importance 1 Risk management 2 Compliance/regulatory matters 3 Build in-house team/expertise and legal department management 4 Managing growth of company/ organization 5 Cost containment 6 Cybersecurity 7 Technology and business operating tools 8 Workplace issues including harassment or bullying going to find that individual who has provided the most expert experience and maybe she is the one who is going to demonstrate to me the opportunity for value drivers in other areas." Elisabeth Demone, vice president, chief legal officer and secretary at Symcor, values lawyers with whom she has worked and says she would not hesitate to follow a lawyer who moves to a different firm. Diversity is still not a significant consid- eration for most, although the number of respondents asking law firms to provide a diverse roster of lawyers has risen slightly with 16.79 per cent now making this request, versus 11.11 per cent last year. Close to 68 per cent say they do not make this request. Some respondents left comments to indi- cate why seeking diversity is still not top of mind, with one writing: "Law firms tend to staff files without asking," Another wrote that they were "trying to minimize the number of lawyers/firms working on our file." Nguyen says the interest in working with a diverse roster is not where is should be, although he recognizes that it would not be considered a significant issue for smaller firms. "For large organizations, diversity would be top of mind; but for smaller organizations, it may or may not be relevant, especially in regard to the relationship with external counsel," he says. For the fifth consecutive year, litigation is the top issue being sent to outside firms, with 77.37 per cent of respondents indicating they seek outside help for litigation matters. Employment and labour issues came in second at 62.77 per cent. Most firms don't have a lot of internal litigators, so seeking outside help is essential. "You need expertise for defending against litigation matter or having dispute resolution go the way the organization wants it to go," says O'Reilly. When Dow faced Nova Chem- ical in a litigation battle in 2018, for example, external help was needed to position Dow in the best possible footing. "For large organizations, diversity would be top of mind; but for smaller organizations, it may or may not be relevant . . . "