Canadian Lawyer InHouse

april 2014 40 INHOUSE '' '' L aw D e p a r t m e n t M a n a g e m e n t However, with legal no longer viewed as simply a cost centre, law depart- ments are being asked to demonstrate their value and in some cases their compensation is tied to how they perform on things that include budget management. This is the case at Bruce Power Inc., Canada's fi rst pri- vate nuclear generator located on the shores of Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario. Everyone in the law division, from ad- ministrative assistants to paralegals and lawyers, are on a compensation package that includes a base salary and variable com- pensation, or bonus structure. "We spend a signifi cant amount of time determining what that bonus structure looks like — not so much the quantum, but the structure — and then to ensure that it actually ties not only to the objectives of the corporation, but also that of the law divi- sion," says Brian Hilbers, Bruce Power's chief legal counsel and vice president, emer- gency management. Hilbers has quarterly meetings with his nine-member staff, which includes seven lawyers and two paralegals, about job per- formance. "It helps not only focus the job but the one-on-one discussions," he says. This year the discussion will also mean making sure the lawyers in the law division are exhibiting the right "behaviours" the company values and making sure everybody in the division is marching to the same beat. Staff begin by fi lling out a scorecard doc- ument that shows how they view their per- formance and then Hilbers shares how he arrived at his evaluation. "Employees have to fi ll out the scorecard themselves the fi rst time and explain why they think they met budget. We grade them from 0-4 — 0 if you didn't do anything to 4 if you hit the ball out of the park." Hilbers knows adding behaviours to the evaluation checklist this year is going to be challenging but says he think it's "the right thing to do." "I'm certain it's going to make for more diffi cult conversations but I've al- ways viewed the law division as a breeding ground for people to move into other areas of the organization. You want hard working people but you also want them exhibiting the right behaviours in getting the work done. If they aren't you can say, 'You're not refl ecting the behaviours to let you succeed in this company.'" In 2014, 50 per cent of the bonus struc- ture at Bruce Power will be based on corpo- rate objectives — things like output, prof- its, revenues, and safety. Then 40 per cent is based on individual staff goals. "This is the piece I really try to use to drive perfor- mance in the organization," says Hilbers. The balance will look at the behaviour piece of the puzzle. "We've mapped out what Bruce Power's core behaviours are for every level in the company and these are the things we ex- pect to see — for example if someone is an individual contributor, somebody that is a vice president or executive — and it shows behaviours you would expect somebody in those positions to demonstrate," he says. Hilbers agrees it will be somewhat of a subjective analysis but he will be looking at whether that person did what they said they would do in the right way. "Did they refl ect Bruce Power's values?" he asks. First he determines what the goals of the department will be. This involves what he's trying to accomplish overall within the di- vision. Then he sets out some parameters for the team. Each member of the law divi- sion is asked to come up with fi ve to eight goals which will be the basis for 40 per cent of their performance review. Those goals are measured in terms of how they perform on that goal. "I ask, 'Did you truly exceed? Did you underperform on budget? Did you hit bud- get or did you not hit budget or were you able to come under budget substantially?'" Hilbers says that's important because it helps impact the bottom-line profi tability of the company. "Every single person in this division has a role to play in actually meet- ing budget because that budget includes external counsel spend; it includes training opportunities and it drives people to make the right decisions in terms of what the spend is because we're all going to be com- pensated if we meet budget," he adds. Many large organizations have goals set for in-house counsel in terms of assessing performance, says Nadine Côté of CSuite Law in Toronto. However there needs to be room for fl exibility when dealing with indi- vidual goals. "How specifi c they are varies and ultimately there needs to be some dis- cretion," she says. "Asssessing someone's performance in the provision of a legal service is very different than assessing every single person in this division has a role to play in actually meeting budget because that budget includes external counsel spend; it includes training opportunities and it drives people to make the right decisions in terms of what the spend is because we're all going to be compensated if we meet budget brian hilbers, bruce power inc. '' L aw D e p a r t m e n t M a n a g e m e n t However, with legal no longer viewed as simply a cost centre, law depart- ments are being asked to demonstrate their ument that shows how they view their per- formance and then Hilbers shares how he arrived at his evaluation. "Employees have to fi ll out the scorecard themselves the fi rst time and explain why they think they met budget. We grade them from 0-4 — 0 if you didn't do anything to 4 if you hit the ball out of the park." drives people to make the right decisions in terms of what the spend is because we're all going to be

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