Canadian Lawyer InHouse

35 canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse february 2015 prioritize the workload First, the lawyers needed to understand what work they should do in-house and what should be outsourced. Using a method developed by the Association of Corporate Counsel, they categorized their workload, prioritizing work related to acquisitions and other matters of company growth. They drew a hard line between top priori- ties and less important tasks. "The legal de- partment isn't there to provide legal services or risk management," Pekilis says. "We're there to use our specialized skillset to help the company achieve its business plan." smart partnerships Nonetheless, she and her colleagues still had to manage leasing, work permits, and other routine tasks. For these undertakings, the law division partnered with outside service providers. In each new location, law firms were brought aboard to handle leases. A lawyer who specializes in visas was hired to help employees acquire permits for work abroad. That service provider had an online tool where workers would enter basic information and learn exactly what type of visa they needed. The site even partially filled out visa applications with employees' details, reducing the amount of paperwork. Pekilis says employees were impressed. "Their eyes gleamed when they saw that." bring work in-house Outsourcing wasn't her group's only tactic. In at least one instance, the CSA brought work in-house to reduce costs. It happened after the law department sent two lawyers out to work with business units. That move left Pekilis with room to hire. Chatting with managers in China, she learned that although general labour costs are low in that country, they're high for legal counsel. Rather than find a lawyer in China, it would be cheaper for CSA to have a lawyer in Canada support the Chinese operations. So Pekilis brought in a lawyer to support the Chinese division from the Canadian headquarters. Client contracts presented another challenge. Too often, sales and business development staff called on the legal team to make minor contract changes, which meant the lawyers had less time to work on business growth. To cut down on these requests, CSA invested in an automated online quote generator, which the clients could use to indicate contract terms appropriate for the services required. Using the right mix of technology, service providers, and in-house staff, the law department could devote more resources to support CSA's corporate goals. That concentration helped the legal team weather a period of serious economic upheaval. Last August, the company laid off a number L aw D e p a r t m e n t M a n a g e m e n t '' '' We're there to use our specialized skillset to help the company achieve its business plan. elleN PekiliS, energy exchange Experience Counts. Referrals respected and appreciated. Employment and Labour Lawyers Shields O'Donnell MacKillop LLP 416.304.6400 65 Queen Street W, Suite 1800, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 2M5 Shields_IH_Apr_11.indd 1 3/1/11 10:04:56 AM

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