Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1336129
www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 21 regulations that affect our business. INHOUSE: In what ways does the legal department support the organization as a whole? NOEL: We provide advice, negotiate contracts and manage risk. We participate in cross-func- tional groups that support all of the major projects and initiatives. We also manage corporate governance. What's great is that we've kind of created an environment where we're business partners, so people will come to us sometimes not even on legal issues but just because they see us as a team of problem solvers — and that's intentional. We want people to see us as more than lawyers. INHOUSE: How do you plan to deal with risk management and compliance in the year ahead? NOEL: Well, I think addressing the COVID pandemic has really accelerated our plans to enhance our risk management program, including with respect to business continuity and privacy. In 2021, we expect to evolve from tactical business continuity to strategic business resilience. A global pandemic is something that most businesses had not specifically planned for but it's also about trying to figure out if something happens that we couldn't anticipate, how can we just be more resilient as an organization, no matter what life throws at us? INHOUSE: What projects and initiatives will the legal department be focused on in 2021? NOEL: Well, in addition to the further development of our risk management function, we're working on implementing a contract lifecycle management system, which I'm really excited about. That's to accelerate our customer onboarding but also to provide insight into contract data to inform business decisions more quickly. I always say that, without data, you're flying blind. It'll be good to have a very disciplined approach to decision-making that's based on data that we have across all of our contracts with our customers and our vendors. First and foremost, the goal is obviously to support the various projects and initiatives of a very innovative business that needs to be agile, especially as we continue to navigate the pandemic and its effect on our business. I go to where the business needs me, but I also have to make sure that we keep the lights on in the legal department and that is where the contract lifecycle management comes in. We really need to take care of those things in order to make sure that we're building all of the nice, shiny things on top of a very solid foundation. INHOUSE: What is your approach to working with external counsel? NOEL: Like most, we use external counsel when we need expertise or we need band- width. I think the old model of this billable hour is slowly dying as there are firms and organiza- tions that are offering alternatives such as flat rates. At the end of the day, I care mostly about using the right tools for the job and getting the value that I paid for, and this is largely derived from building relationships with partners who are open to sharing the risk and understanding our challenges and objectives, so they would need to be proactive. I need lawyers to drive files to close and facilitate a good two-way communication. Diversity and inclusion in the legal profes- sion is still lagging behind business generally. I believe in the business case for diversity and I would expect my law firm partners to be similarly invested in developing their own talent to serve our files, so that means more than just lip service. A few junior lawyers representing diversity is not going to cut it. Those firms that continue to kick this issue to the side — which they have done for 20 odd years since I've been in the profession — are unlikely to see very much work from us. I definitely have external law firms that hear me loud and clear and they're really doing a good job of trying to develop some of their own talent for succession planning and working on some meaningful files for us. I'm excited and I'm hopeful, but it's also about managing those expectations. I'm not going to be silent on this diversity and inclusion issue. INHOUSE: What goals do you have for your legal department in 2021? NOEL: I want to build on our reputation as business partners with an enterprise-wide perspective. I think that's where we really add the value. What I'm really excited about as a goal for 2021 is developing the muscle in legal operations. Private practice lawyers are often measured by billable hours, but in an in-house environment, not only would our lawyers object to documenting their time but I just don't think it correlates to delivering value to the business. We're exploring a meaningful way to measure that performance of a legal department, so that we're measuring what matters to the business — not just what's easy for us to measure. And this is our opportunity to demonstrate our value, as well as contribut- ing to Purolator's continuous improvement culture, which is very strong. "In 2021, we expect to evolve from tactical business continuity to strategic business resilience." Sue-Lynn Noel, Purolator Inc.