Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/98265
lAW DEpARTMEnT MAnAgEMEnT tHE LUrE OF PrOJEct LaWyErS They offer a get-it-done corporate-counsel mentality, the flexibility to work when and where you need them, and hourly rates at half those charged by typical law firms. Are Canadian general counsel embracing this growing source of legal talent? By Julie stauffer With the North American economy still stuck in low gear, debt crises continuing to wreak havoc in Europe, and growth in China���s gross domestic product dropping into the single digits, corporate Canada is keeping its belt tightly notched. Forget about adding staff: lean and flexible is today���s corporate mantra. At the same time, general counsel are thinking twice before they turn to legal firms where experienced partners charge $600 and more an hour. So what do you do when the stack of contracts requiring your attention keeps getting higher, the due diligence on your company���s new acquisition was due yesterday, and your senior legal counsel just came down with the flu? For more and more Canadian legal departments the answer lies in hired guns. Project lawyers, contract lawyers, temps, freelancers ��� call them what you will. The key is they can work as many or as few hours as you need ��� often remotely and at rates less than half what a typical law firm would charge. If you are inclined to think these free agents are fit only for mundane document reviews or e-discovery, it���s time to wake up to the breadth and depth of legal talent on tap. Across Canada, highly qualified lawyers are setting up shop as counsel on call, offering expertise in everything from intellectual property to corporate restructuring. Yes, a few are simply trying to pay the mortgage while they���re between ���real��� jobs. Many, though, have deliberately chosen a freelance career. 42 ��� D ec em b er 2012/ January 2013 Take the example of Natalie le Cavalier. After serving seven years as in-house counsel for GE Capital ��� and earning her Six Sigma Green Belt certification in the process ��� she said goodbye to her 500-hour-a-year commute in 2004 and hung out her shingle as a project lawyer. Today, le Cavalier, who is based in the Montreal area, works with global companies, guiding them through new regulatory frameworks, negotiating multimilliondollar contracts, and contributing to compliance projects. For her clients, like McKesson Canada���s Jennifer Zerczy, the appeal is clear. ���It���s a very simple matter of economics,��� says the vice president of legal affairs for the healthcare solutions company. ���Somebody like Natalie is a more economical alternative for an in-house law department than farming out additional hours to an outside law firm.��� When Zerczy faces a spike in workload or a project too timeconsuming to handle in-house, she turns to project lawyers like le Cavalier. Toronto���s Joe Milstone has taken the idea of corporate counsel on demand a step further, gathering together more than two dozen project lawyers under the umbrella of Cognition LLP. Yes, the firm does have a bricks-and-mortar presence, but you won���t find any oak-panelled boardrooms, art collections, or armies of articling students in the company���s converted warehouse on Adelaide Street West. What you will find are seasoned lawyers with in-house INHOUSE