Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50890
FEATURE understand what a practice requires and want to manage one . . . and not from a managing-partner perspective, from the business perspective," says Carolyn Berger, vice president and director of support services and law firm management at ZSA Legal Recruitment in Toronto. Berger recruits for the non-traditional roles that firms or le- gal departments are searching for. "I think lawyers automatically have training and a credibility that they bring forward to these business roles that a lot of people do not have, and so they've had access to a lot of different business, having acted for busi- nesses, that I think could be really interesting opportunities for a potential employer to look at," she says. But how can interested in-house counsel make the move to- wards a more senior business role? Recruiters who see the trend and lawyers who have experienced it first-hand share their sto- ries and their tips for taking on more of a business role. Learn more about the business Patricia Bood, vice president of legal services and general coun- sel at Brookfield Renewable Pow- er in Ottawa, was promoted into her executive role after a year- and-a-half with the company. "The people who are pro- moted at that level, whether it's lawyers or any other func- tion, tend to be a certain level of responsibility and trust for their advice, as well as a bit of a management component in the sense of often you're run- ning a department or a group of people," she says. The skills that Bood says have qualification; that's just a question of personal interest and atti- tude," she says, although many do choose to get further training in an executive MBA. Volunteer work and board work are also important respon- sibilities to take on for those interested in getting into more of a business role, says Berger. "Getting exposure and being able to speak credibly to a potential employer about something that they've participated in or initiated within an organization that shows their understanding of business" are important func- tions, she says. Go beyond a legal analysis One thing that makes in-house lawyers valued partners, says Fitzwilliam, is "their ability to derive solutions to problems, rather than a purely legal analysis or commentary on what one can and cannot do under the legislation," she says. "When a lawyer is perceived within "When a lawyer is perceived within the organization to be a good problem solver, they don't have to go looking for opportunities; they are very often sought-after." — CAROL FITZWILLIAM, FITZWILLIAM LEGAL RECRUITMENT come in the most useful in her dual role as in-house counsel and part of the executive team include the ability to grasp the business as a whole as well as gaining an understanding of the industry in which the business functions and maintaining rela- tionships with the business teams. "You can provide more value to the senior executives by learning more about your business as well as the industry, be- cause the real important thing is understanding how they make decisions, and you can't really do that without understanding the business and industry as a whole, outside of the legal risk evaluation," she says. Carol Fitzwilliam, of Fitzwilliam Legal Recruitment in Mon- treal, agrees, saying that in-house counsel looking for a broader experience than just legal work should learn as much as possible about the business — including the drivers, obstacles, and op- portunities of the business — just as well as the businesspeople know them. "A lawyer can do that without any additional training or 8 A UGUST 2008 C ANADIAN Lawyer INHOUSE the organization to be a good problem solver, they don't have to go looking for opportunities; they are very often sought-after," she says. Fitzwilliam says she sees lots of in- house counsel coming to her firm who have been in their roles for awhile and strive for something more. Anne Fitzgerald, senior vice presi- dent, general counsel, and corporate secretary with Cineplex Entertain- ment LP, came to learn about business organically, as she and her brother ran two businesses before she went to law school in the U.S. She began practising as a corporate- commercial lawyer initially, before becoming a criminal prosecutor. She then moved back into commercial le- gal practice before going in-house with Cineplex. Her executive role entails the building and maintaining of re- lationships with customers and suppliers, deal-making, human- resource management issues, and selecting a supplier for new technologies in their theatres as a result of having been involved in human rights litigation over closed captioning. Fitzgerald says that being able to view a bigger picture is a critical skill when it comes to working as a general counsel and in a business role. "As lawyers, we're trained to look at minutiae and look at detail; we forget that the bigger picture and a busi- ness perspective may mandate a different outcome than would be mandated by a strict legal analysis," she says. When you are asked legal questions, instead of going back to a business department with a response of, "No, you cannot do this" from a legal perspective, Fitzgerald advises lawyers to have the creativity to think through options. "If you can come up with creative ways to make sure a deal still gets done — because that's adding value to the company —