Canadian Lawyer InHouse

7 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JULY 2017 A roundup of legal department news and trends 2015, consent and notice rules for installa- tion of computer programs came into force with its own three-year transitional period specific to computer programs beginning. The third and final step was scheduled for July 1, with the private right of action com - ing into force, the first three-year period for CEMs coming to an end and a mandatory review of CASL triggered. Andriessen says the government was "get - ting a significant amount of pressure from small businesses, retail businesses, etc. that they're very concerned about how this is go- ing to play out come July 1." Andriessen predicted the small claims courts would have been flooded by "some individuals who believed they are smart and started keeping emails worth $200 a piece." Gratton notes she's not sure how useful the private right of action will be as an in - centive for people to comply with the legis- lation anyway. "Under CASL, the CRTC can issue monetary penalties so I think businesses are already quite motivated to comply with this legislation and I'm not sure this private right of action would motivate them more." IH Alberta and a member of the executive committee of the Calgary Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Alison Jeffrey, senior adviser, strategic initiatives and client development coaching at Blakes, says the increase in the number of women GCs on boards reflects a growing recognition that women GCs have the background and expertise necessary to fill roles on boards. "I do think what we're seeing is that GCs are very much solidly in the C-suite and that the breadth of their role in terms of their input on strategy, and certainly operational contributions at that level, combined with the ever-increasing focus on risk management in highly regulated environments, are really elevating the value that the CEOs see in their GCs," says Jeffrey. Many GCs also serve as corporate secretaries and that means they are conversant with what is happening in boardrooms. "It's all a combination of those things together with the increasing dialogue to put more women on boards," says Jeffrey. "Their value proposition as a strong board member is starting to be realized. "When you combine regulatory knowledge with the large complex transactions they are seeing, and leading from the legal perspective, I think that insight combined with trying to achieve business objectives in a very complex and intensely competitive environment — that is putting them front and centre and showcasing their business capabilities." But simply being a lawyer is not the first consideration for boards when considering a GC as a candidate. "GCs on boards will unanimously say when they presented their own value proposition [that being a] lawyer was last on the list," says Jeffrey. "You have to think very carefully about how you are presenting your credentials. How are you framing the experience and expertise they are looking for? Some even recommended that they looked at the proxies for the company to figure out what the core things the company is concerned about then looking back into their own experience and lining it all up," says Jeffrey. In terms of increasing the number of women on boards, Jeffrey says a big part of the challenge is the way board positions are filled — often through the networks of the directors already on the boards themselves. "It's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy if you're drawing from networks that are your own. So, if you're a 55-year-old white male, what's the network you're drawing from? It likely won't include a lot of senior women," she says. "GCs on boards have said it makes them better at their job and that's why many CEOs who encourage their GCs to participate on boards recognize the value the company gets back." IH Susskind on Tomorrow's Lawyers: 'Surely, our generation will redefine the way that law is practised' L egal futurist and author Richard Susskind says the new jobs for law- yers will be in the area of designing, developing and implementing systems that will transform the way legal services are ul- timately delivered. "I often say that the only career deci- sion you need to make as a lawyer and only strategy decision you need to make if you're in the commercial world is do you want to compete with machines or build the ma- chines? Surely, our generation will redefine the way that law is practised," said Susskind, speaking recently at the Corporate Legal Operations Institute in Las Vegas. In a Q&A session with Jeffrey Franke, as - sistant general counsel of global legal opera- tions at Yahoo! Inc., Susskind discussed his views on the impact of artificial intelligence, new players in the legal services industry and what law schools and firms need to do to produce lawyers who can be successful for the future. While many are predicting that AI and other tech tools will eliminate jobs for law - yers, Susskind, author of Tomorrow's Law- yers, An Introduction to Your Future, says the time is now to embrace technology and to find a future in the disruptive areas. He says the legal sector is going through three stages, the first being denial, although that stage is coming to a close — most rec - ognize that substantial change is afoot and there is no turning back. The second stage is re-sourcing — using cheaper people to do legal work. Whether it is outsourcing, offshoring or the setting up of low-cost legal resource centres — the idea is to take cost out of legal services. In the May issue of Canadian Lawyer InHouse, Heather Innes was identified in the story Preparing for CASL 2.0 as the former general counsel of General Motors. She is in fact the former privacy officer of General Motors. InHouse regrets the error.

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