Canadian Lawyer InHouse

house legal department is one group that has shown interest in imple- menting a recovery program or track- ing system. While Labatt doesn't yet have a formal program, legal counsel Matthew Lawless says the department has discussed setting certain targets and having something more concrete in place in 2013, although he says the program may not see recoveries on the same scale as a company like DuPont. "We like the idea, we like the con- Labatt Breweries of Canada's in- customers, the legal department would be more likely to fend off claims than seek out more, says Craig Podrebarac, vice president, legal. "We're holding a shield more often than a sword, so I think it also depends on the nature of your business whereas if you had a large portfolio of patents or if you were doing mergers and acquisitions all the time or if you are a purchaser more often than a seller, I think a program like this may have more value, cept, we're kind of testing it out in cer- tain respects in terms of how we already operate, but we'll see at the end of the year how that grows," he says. One of the keys for Labatt, says Law- less, is being situated in an industry that is large and dynamic enough to not to implement a formal recovery program also extends to the fact that his department considers these tasks to be part of its day-to-day work, in conjunction with those on the business side of the company. "I don't have any concerns by not doing or implementing For Podrebarac, however, choosing " he says. We like the idea, we like the concept, we're kind of testing it out in certain respects in terms of how we already operate, but we'll see at the end of the year how that grows. MATTHEW LAWLESS, Labatt Breweries of Canada or no cost, using in-house resources. But in Canada, the concept has yet to take off, with opinions split on whether pursuing recoveries is something that will work in Canadian in-house depart- ments. The experience of several U.S. companies and the concepts raised in a 2010 research report called The Prof- itable Legal Department: How legal departments can prosper by generating revenue for their company, have some Canadian in-house counsel considering the benefits of such an approach, while others view it with some skepticism. have opportunities for counsel to find money that may be sitting around not being recovered. "It's a very competitive industry which creates a lot of butting heads, you do end up in court, so I think it has a lot of potential to work well for us," says Lawless. However, Sanjeev Dhawan, president of the Association of Corporate Coun- sel, Ontario Chapter and senior legal counsel at Hydro One Networks Inc., says not everyone is likely to embrace the concept formally, as it depends on industry type and whether rights would be asserted against consumers or busi- ness partners. For a company like UPS Canada, which is more oriented to serving this type of program that UPS is really leaving a lot of money on the table. I think our businesspeople, at least my perception is that when our business- people are not getting full value out of their agreements, that they're aware of that and that they bring that to my attention, because that happens all the time and then we take appropriate action. So, although we don't have a name or a label for it or have a formal tracking system, we do these things every day, in-house groups already do this type of work to a certain extent. However, a recovery program, he says, makes it a focus, sets up specific goals and INHOUSE JUNE/JULY 2012 • Lawless agrees that most, if not all, " he adds. 31

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