time. When asked the makeup of their departments, more than 53 per cent of the members of the respondents' teams had 10 or more years experience; only 15 per cent of the lawyers in their teams had been practising for under four years. Of course, more years on the job
LAST YEAR'S COMBINED EXTERNAL LEGAL SPEND FOR ALL SURVEY RESPONDENTS CAME IN AT MORE THAN $181 MILLION.
Location of the Canadian law department
Part of an international
law department 86%
Primarily in Canada
14% No
46% Yes 54%
If primarily in Canada,
do the lawyers outside of Canada report through to a Canadian general counsel?
means a greater chance of leaving the position for retirement or to pursue oth- er opportunities. About a third of in- house departments say they're con- cerned about succession when their main law fi rm relationship manager leaves the department. It may be worth- while, both for fi rms and corporate counsel, to expand their gateway part- ners and make for an easier transition in the future. Losing contact with your re- lationship manager in the legal depart- ment is likely the largest threat leading to dwindling revenues from existing corporate clients. As new people step into the role, the tendency will be to ex- plore all of the options and see what else is out there. Th e wise fi rms will have prepared for this, and positioned them- selves in a manner that makes a reduc- tion in revenue unlikely.
www.
mag.com NO VEMBER / DECEMBER 2008 47
