Canadian Lawyer InHouse

15 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JULY 2017 his expanding team up to be successful. In his case, it means giving him basic tools he can use without having to call each time he needs it. "It's no longer one-way," he said. "It's an ongoing dialogue." He referenced If anything, law firms should welcome the approach Nguyen is fostering, which is about having quarterly reviews that aren't about fees — it's about the quality of the work, responsiveness and setting him and a small firm in Cleveland, Ohio that set up a portal for its clients to access commonly used documents and information to be used and readily accessed online. "Ease of use and accessibility" was highlighted as the primary appeal of that kind of service offering from a law firm relationship. As Vesely said, "Being a legal department of one, you need someone you can call who isn't just going to start running the clock on you. You need someone who will walk you through things and then you will pass the work to them. That's been critical for me." Andrea Cotroneo of Capital One echoed that sentiment, saying she is encouraging a model where after every significant matter a review is conducted with external coun - sel on how things went and how they could have been managed differently. For Cotroneo and Pinar Ozyetis of Air Miles, their larger in-house team of between eight and 10 lawyers gives them more im - mediate expertise that they are developing. They are charged with problem solving and finding efficiencies, not just providing legal advice. This is also the first year I have heard general counsel really getting specific about the kinds of talent they are looking to hire in the future. Vesely in particular ref - erenced an intern she recently worked with who has a masters degree in mathematical finance and is now applying to law school. He codes, knows the financial markets and can articulate his position on a matter. For Nguyen, the type of people he wants to add to his team are not necessarily lawyers — they are people who have certain skillsets with strong operational capabilities. In - creasingly, we are seeing that those who can take information and make it speak to criti- cal business decisions with a legal lens will be those who will own the future in both law firms and corporate legal departments. This year, I was joined by Terra Rebick who is the new chief counsel for Thomson Reuters Canada, and Neil Sternthal, man - aging director, legal and tax at Thomson Reuters for Canada, Australia and New Zealand who also posed questions to the GCs. I hope you find the discussion informa - tive. Watch for the video coverage of the roundtable at www.Canadianlawyermag.com/ inhouse. GROWTH IN THE RAMESH PURADCHITHASAN

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