Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1365049
www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 33 "In-house legal departments are sometimes disconnected from customers so it's important to reconnect and to deliver our services in a way that adds to the customer experience." of the high-value files in-house and sending out the low-value work. "I think big law firms really need to challenge their traditional models and the repetitiveness of advice," says Skakun. "They should look at their use of technology and allowing clients to have access to that technology." The team has also been automating templates for the board of directors to allow for multiple people to contribute to board materials through an efficient system. from a contract repository standpoint and in terms of financial details, so they can track how much is being spent and on what issues. The team was able to track more than 600 legal matters using this system last year. The legal department also managed to cut spending in 2020 by strategically managing more work in-house so the overall spend was 18 per cent below budget. Instead of outsourcing all the high-value complex work and managing lower-skilled, high-volume work in-house, the team pivoted to keep more Lisa Skakun Skakun added chief people officer to her role last year, so working to protect the mental health of her team has been a critical component. "To me, the biggest piece is ensuring that people are doing OK on a personal level, so that they can come to work and deliver what they need to on that front. If you don't take care of that piece, it's going to impact business," says Skakun. "There's a large external piece out there that's impacting every family differently." COAST CAPITAL AWARDED FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Coast Capital Savings was awarded a 2020 Canadian Credit Union Association National Credit Union Award in the category of social responsibility for the organization's Help Heroes Employee Volunteer Program. The high-impact volunteer program encourages employees to give back to their community with company support and incentives. It was originally launched 13 years ago and enhanced in 2018. Through the program, employees earn reward dollars for each tracked volunteer hour that is donated to the Canadian charity or cause of their choosing.