Canadian Lawyer InHouse

ROUNDUP • A roundup of legal department news and trends In-house feel valued but sometimes under-used Canadian in-house counsel say their organizations value them most for providing risk management, fol- lowed by regulatory compliance advice and controlling external costs, according to a recent survey. The 2012 In-House Counsel Barometer survey conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion and spon- sored by Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP was presented April 16 in Montreal during the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association' The survey, completed by 411 Canadian in-house counsel, shows that providing value as in-house counsel is closely tied to managing or reducing risk with 84 per cent of participants citing risk manage- ment, followed by ensuring regulatory compliance (48 per cent), and controlling costs of external counsel (44 per cent) as the top ways they provide value in their organization. The majority of in-house counsel taking part in the survey also say they feel the work they do is valued in their organization. Participants were asked to indicate whether they feel the work they do is valued within their organiza- tion and 93 per cent said they feel either valued or highly valued with an addi- tional 28 per cent feeling they are mod- erately valued within their organization. The majority of those surveyed — 82 per cent — who work for publicly traded companies reported that they work in an environment with strong support from management. Also, 68 per cent believe their organization would like to bring more work inside the organization, rather than outsource. However, three in 10 say the organization they work for does not make appropriate use of their role. A majority — 64 per cent — feels s national spring conference. do with the company you work for," said Andrew Grenville, chief research officer with Angus Reid Public Opinion who presented the findings. The survey also revealed that key perfor- mance indicators are in place for two in five in-house counsel. Reviews of KPIs remain mixed, as they were in last year' survey. Although the majority of in-house counsel working for an organization that has KPIs in place report they help prove the value of in-house counsel (58 per cent), a majority also feels KPIs are good in theory, but poor in practice (62 per cent). This is on par with findings from 2011. In terms of hours worked by in-house counsel in Canada, those employed by a wholly owned subsidiary of a public com- pany work, on average, the most hours per week at 49 hours, followed by those who work for a public company at 48 s hours or private company at 47 hours. In-house counsel working for not-for- profit organizations work an average of 45 hours, while those working in govern- ment work the fewest of all at 44 hours. Overall, finding extra time for term planning poses the biggest chal- lenge for in-house. New to the survey for 2012, participants were asked to rank eight challenges their profession faces. A majority (65 per cent) said the day-to-day workload leaves little time for "big picture thinking" or the development of initia- tives which would benefit the organiza- tion as a whole. The "lack of simple and inexpensive longer- matter management software tools for smaller law departments" was identi- fied by 15 per cent of in-house counsel in public companies as the most impor- tant challenge. Patzelt named winner of CCCA's Robert V.A. Jones Award Robert Patzelt, Q.C., of Halifax, was the recipient of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association's 2012 Robert V.A. Jones Award. "Robert Patzelt has been a member of the Canadian Bar Association since his first week of law school, and a member of the CCCA since its founding in 1988, the same year he took on his first job as in-house counsel," says Geoff Creighton, chairman of CCCA, noting that Patzelt's entire career has been as in-house counsel. "Over the past decades, Robert has volunteered in a multitude of capaci- ties within the CBA and CCCA — including as head of CCCA — always giving 100 per cent for the benefit of the organization and the in-house counsel community." they often have internal clients who act without seeking legal advice, up 11 points from 2011. The survey did show there was no connection between the type of er an in-house counsel felt valued. "There appears to be no relation- ship between the type of law you prac- tise and feeling valued, it has more to law practised and wheth- A graduate of Dalhousie Law School (now Schulich School of Law), Patzelt serves as vice president, risk management and general counsel at Scotia Investments Ltd., a diversified, Canadian-owned company whose interests encompass activities such as paper, pulp, and foam manufacturing, energy, recycling, floral, timberlands, medical devices, and construction materials. In recognition of his significant contributions to the CCCA, CBA, and legal profession, Patzelt received the CBA President's Award in 2004. The award was presented April 15 during the Robert V.A. Jones Award Reception, as part of the 2012 CCCA Corporate Counsel World Summit, Leading Global In-House Success. INHOUSE JUNE/JULY 2012 • 7

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