Canadian Lawyer InHouse

21 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JULY 2015 ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE ROUNDTABLE INHOUSE: Is your legal team shrinking or growing? Petrolito It's grown by one lawyer since I've been here and it was quite a feat to get somebody else on board. I also have an intern who is helping us and that is something completely new for us. He's still a student in law school but he is part of our procurement team — he chose to go back to school to become a lawyer. I think we have no other choice but to be growing. We have a manufactur- ing client, we have a distribution centre, and we're covering all of Canada — it's a billion-dollar business and we keep acquir- ing brands — we're up to 35 at this point, so there's a lot to manage. Desjardins We've been growing at a fast pace over many years but now we're growing at a slower pace. I think we've staffed all the key positions and we've in-sourced what we really want to in-source which is the core of the business about selling trains and planes and everything related to that. But what we've also been doing, instead of growing within the department is growing the department's responsibility. So before, in Bombardier Aerospace for example, the contracting department was separate from the legal department. Now legal has taken over contracts to make it even more effi cient. So we've grown also in the context of our responsibilities within the company, not only staff-wise, but also taking over other functions that have now become part of the legal team or under the responsibility of legal. We had added Bombardier Transportation, so it was time to do it in Bombardier Aerospace too. It makes it a lot more meaningful in the way of effi ciency to manage both departments together. Greenberg We actually doubled in size a couple of years ago. There are now six plus me makes seven. There are now two lawyers in Toronto because we've grown through acquisition in the last two years. We were just Aeroplan not that long ago and then we purchased a couple of companies that gave us a global footprint, but in Canada we also had different businesses that we operate other than Aeroplan. So I have lawyers handling those businesses as well. I don't know that the team is necessarily going to continue to grow at the moment. I think we're managing very well and we're trying very hard to do things that enable us to not have our hands on everything anymore. We're trying to teach everybody else in the company what they can be doing so that we don't have to get as involved, and we manage more strategic things, which is where I think we should be. Girgis My team remains fairly consistent, post- acquisition, after being acquired by Mattel. But there was a re-focusing on certain aspects of what we do day-to-day. We remain in control of intellectual property, of course, because our design centre for our toys is here in Montreal. Manufacturing is also here in Montreal. We produce about 60 to 65 per cent of our products here in Montreal and, of course, labour and employment is associated with that. Some some aspects of legal have shifted where it makes absolute sense, such as international regulatory matters, and sales and distribution of our products is now handled by the parent company and the lawyers in that department. Headon We've had two postings out recently but I think it refl ects the trend line that you're hearing here with a variation. Considering the number of new designations that are popping up in-house, the more specialized kind of functions that we're doing in-house, and certainly the numbers suggest that it's a growing part of the bar. I think it's going to continue that way as we take on compliance and corporate social responsibility that is very related to our work but not traditionally core to our function. INHOUSE: When you are looking to add to the department are you making the business case fi rst to management? Headon Whether you make the business case or not I think you should. I think this is an opportunity for the lawyers to show that we're part of the team, that the things we do that are unique are very valuable. The fact we're now part of the teams that are running the business, that's how the decisions are going to be made and we need to fi nd ways to demonstrate what the savings are or what the revenue opportunities are, what the benefi t is to the company. Certainly, some of what we do is intangible, but I think those things that can be quantifi ed, we need to quantify. It's part of our relevance and it then shows the value of what we're contributing to the business, so making that case is a very important part of the process. I think you can also add to it things like avoidance; there's a real appreciation of the costs that were avoided by having a proper level of in-house counsel. Greenberg For sure I do a business case. You're supposed to be essentially doing something to mitigate the fact that you're bringing in a cost centre. I've actually had the business people help me make business cases that the initiatives and innovations they have are going to get to market faster and therefore there will be a benefi t, which may not be as readily obvious

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