Canadian Lawyer - sample

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 33 situation led to higher fees, slightly higher than the 47.8 per cent giving that same rea- son last year. Jonathan Cullen, vice president, legal affairs and general counsel at Pfizer Canada Inc. in Montreal, says the number "seems high to the point where it requires reflec- tion. "Is there an opportunity here?" he asks. "Maybe there's a need to be more at the table with management and have an ear to the ground on what's going on. It's too much of a cop-out to say, 'I didn't anticipate this.'" Denis agrees, noting the same excuses — "we don't know how many times we're going to get sued, it's out of our hands" — don't work anymore. "The business is expecting the same type of reporting, the same type of cost predictability, the same level of strategic planning from law departments," he says. "If you show up to the meeting with a legal pad and that's what you have for your folks in the C-suite, you're not going to fare very well. You have to speak the language of the business." Nick Slonosky, new chairman of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and director and legal counsel with Inves- tors Group in Winnipeg, found it unsur- prising that cybersecurity ranked first as an issue of concern. "If that wasn't top of mind for every in-house counsel in Canada, I don't know what would be — they wouldn't be doing their job," he says. What sector is your company/organization in? If external spend changed, why? and First Nations – including boards and tribunals) Government (municipal, regional, provincial, federal, Professional services Financial Industry/manufacturing Resource-based Service Technology Non-profit 23.7 % 4.7 % 18.9 % 15.9 % 12.5 % 13.8 % 4.7 % 5.6 % How many lawyers are there in your legal department? What are the legal areas you send to outside firms the most? What was the external legal spend for the Canadian legal department in your last fiscal year? 1 2 to 5 6 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 50 51 to 100 More than 100 $100,000 or less $101,000 to $500,000 $501,000 to $1 million $1 million to $3 million $3.1 million to $5 million $5.1 million to $10 million More than $10 million Refuse to answer/Don't know 17.7 % 8.6 % 35.8 % 20.3 % 22.8 % 9.9 % 9.1 % 15.5 % 3 % 6.5 % 4.7 % 6 % 6.9 % 6 % 27.2 % Did the size of your legal department change over the past year? 47.8 % No change 24.6 % 16.4 % 11.2 % It grew We filled positions previously left vacant It shrank 4 % Advertising/marketing 15.1 % Class action 54.3 % Employment/labour 10.1 % Environmental 15.6 % General corporate work (contracts, etc.) 13.6 % Immigration 27.1 % Intellectual property 9.6 % Information Technology (contracts, licensing, etc.) 78.4 % Litigation 28.1 % Mergers & Acquisitions 8.5 % Privacy legislation 24 % Real Estate 26.6 % Regulatory matters 2 % Risk mitigation 20.6 % Securities/corporate finance 26.6 % Tax 8 % U.S.-cross-border 4.5 % Other Isolated/one-off situation that led to higher fees 51% 8.3% Sending more work out 21.3 % The business grew 19.4 % Bringing more work into the legal department

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