Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50875
Sponsored by: In-house counsel are having a greater say in how their organizations are run. ROWING T By Andi Balla he role of in-house lawyers in corporate governance is growing, allowing for a greater say in how their organizations are managed. At the same time, properly managing legal spending remains the top concern for leaders of Canadian legal depart- ments, as they try to strike a balance between what they spend and what they get in return. These were just two of several topics discussed at the annual round- table organized by Canadian Lawyer InHouse in co-operation with the Association of Corporate Counsel. The sixth annual /ACC General Counsel Roundtable had the participation of legal department leaders from a cross sec- tion of the business community. Two other topics tied to important trends in in-house practice this year were also discussed: privacy and privilege. Legislative changes and the shifting nature of how business is done in the digital age have placed privacy protection top of mind for legal departments across Canada. On solicitor-client privilege, roundtable participants said their biggest worry about protecting privilege came from its misuse or lack of understanding outside legal departments. This was also Fred Krebs' last roundtable as he retires from his position of ACC president this summer. Krebs helped build the annual event, and has been a key participant through the years. Attending general counsel took some time at the end of the round- table to honour Krebs' contribution to the corporate counsel com- munity. A much more extensive version of this discussion and video coverage of the event is available online at ROLE THIS YEAR'S PARTICIPANTS: Barry Fisher, vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at SAP Canada Inc. Kenneth Fredeen, general counsel at Deloitte & Touche LLP Fernando Garcia, general counsel and corporate secretary at Navistar Canada Inc. Sue Gaudi, vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at The Globe and Mail Inc. Fred Krebs, former president of the Association of Corporate Counsel Georgia Sievwright, vice president of law and government affairs at Hewlett-Packard Co. INHOUSE AUGUST 2011 • 17 I n Ho u s e c a n adi a n l a w y er m a g .co m/ i n h ou s e .