Canadian Lawyer InHouse

2012 CANADIAN LAWYER INHOUSE annual Corporate Counsel surveY taKing Control LEGAL DEPARTMENTS ARE BRINGING MORE WORK IN AND CHALLENGING THEIR EXTERNAL FIRMS TO HELP THEM WORK DIFFERENTLY. by Jennifer broWn t he common refrain you will hear from in-house counsel these days is whenever possible they are bringing work in-house as opposed to sending it out. If they are sending work out, it���s for complex files or specialized one-off projects involving litigation, tax, or intellectual property matters. Even then, they may well be breaking down a litigation file and managing some aspects of it themselves to cut costs, sending only the most complicated aspects to external law firms. As has been the case in the last few years, the 2012 Canadian Lawyer Corporate Counsel Survey once again reflects that trend. Of the 225 respondents from leading Canadian corporate and government legal departments, 51.4 per cent said their budgets stayed the same and if external spending changed it was largely (40.8 per cent) due to an isolated or one-off project. For those who had changes in their budget, 42 per cent said they brought more work inside in 2012, and if the economy declines, 55.3 per cent say they will bring even more work inside. Even if there is an improvement in the economic fore- cast, 66.2 per cent said they don���t plan on sending more work outside the department ��� up from 61 per cent last year. As well, 62.7 per cent said they plan to implement new arrangements to get more value from the firms they deal with, up from 57.4 per cent last year. ���The figures point to a change in the operating model in many companies,��� says Simon Fish, executive vice president and general counsel with BMO. ���More work is being insourced than in the past and in response to that we are seeing some growth in legal departments with increasing complexity to matters that were traditionally outsourced.��� Fish says, in particular, in-house departments are improving their capacity to take on litigation support work that can be costly, leaving the trial work to outside lawyers. ���More consideration is being given to the kind of work being sent out. In-house departments have more tools available to them and there is constant demand to prove the value the department is delivering.��� The trend is being observed across the country says Grant Borbridge, chairman of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and executive vice president investments and chief counsel with Emergo Group of Companies based in ca na dia nl awy e rm a g . c o m / i n h o u s e December 2012/January 2013 ��� 35

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