Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/52834
INHOUSE EDITOR'S BOX By Jennifer Brown www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Editorial Director: Gail J. Cohen gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com Editor: Jennifer Brown jen.brown@thomsonreuters.com Staff Writer: Michael McKiernan michael.mckiernan@thomsonreuters.com Copy Editor: Katia Caporiccio Art Director: Bill Hunter Account Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles Advertising Sales Representatives Legal Suppliers: Kimberlee Pascoe Tel: (416) 649-8875 E-mail: kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com Law Firms: Karen Lorimer Tel: (416)-649-9411 E-mail: karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Sales Co-ordinator: Sandy Shutt Tel: (416) 649-8864 E-mail: sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com Canadian Lawyer InHouse is published 6 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto ON. M1T 3V4 (905) 841-6480. Fax : 647-288-5418 Web: www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse LinkedIn group: www.goo.gl/9tytr Editorial advisory board: Robin Brudner, MLSE Ltd.; Sanjeev Dhawan, Hydro One Networks Inc.; Kari Horn, Alberta Securities Commission; Jonathan Lau, TVO; Janis Vanderburgh, York Region Rapid Transit Corp. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permis- sion. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer InHouse disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, com- pleteness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement #40766500 ISSN 1921-9563 Copyright © 2012 H.S.T. Registration #R121349799 To subscribe or change addresses Call (416) 649-9926 Fax (416) 649-7870 or e-mail Ellen Alstein at ellen.alstein@thomsonreuters.com RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto ON. M1T 3V4 Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index INHOUSE FEBRUARY 2012 • 3 The blurring lines of in-house counsel entrepreneurial spirit like that of Evan Johnston, general counsel of Churchill Corp. based in Calgary who, when I spoke with him back in September, told me bluntly that in five years he didn't want to have a law job — he wanted to be on track to move into more of a business role. There W are others, like AGF Management Ltd.'s new senior vice presi- dent, general counsel, and corporate sec- retary Mark Adams who started out as a securities lawyer and loved that area of law, but wanted to broaden his activities to include more of what in-house duties involve, while staying within the realm of the capital markets (see page 7). Ideally, contributing to the business is what all in-house counsel do and find challenge in, but there are many who feel a little divided on how much they should be viewed by their internal bosses as a resource dedicated to advancing the busi- ness versus maintaining a delicate balance of being a legal expert first, then a business enabler. There's promoting business, and then there's keeping a certain indepen- dence so one can deliver the tough deci- sions business units may not want to hear. Should they keep that independent stance so they remain less invested in promot- ing the success of the business and more on side with potentially keeping it out of trouble? Or can they do both effectively? As Barry Fisher, vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of SAP Canada, said recently, "It's very seductive hen lawyers move in- house they obviously do so with their own career aspirations in mind. Some have an when you are asked for your business view." But Fisher makes a point of empha- sizing to his business units that his exper- tise is in the legal realm, not necessarily business, and there are limits as to what he can advise in that area. He insists in-house lawyers have an overriding responsibility to the legal pro- fession first and points to disbarred law- yers as examples of those who lost track of the legal obligation in-house counsel carry. That doesn't mean in-house must remain a silo unaligned with the business objectives. When the Association of Corporate Counsel polled CLOs this past year, some of the issues that came up with respect to in-house counsel's changing roles revolved around the challenge of being a legal versus business adviser. Some have said that as in-house law- yers, they are challenged to do more espe- cially in terms of being business enablers. What additional leadership skills are required to fulfil this expectation? How does an in-house counsel develop a respectful working relationship with their executive team in light of this push towards supporting the business but keeping them out of legal trouble at the same time? With these issues in mind, we've added a new contributor to the magazine with our In Closing columnist Ken Fredeen, general counsel of Deloitte & Touche LLP in Toronto (see page 38). He will explore the evolving role of in-house counsel and the challenges of becoming a trusted member of the executive team who is not asked to simply advance business, but hold a respected position of special- ized authority. IH Send your news and story ideas to jen.brown@thomsonreuters.com