General Counsel in the 21st Century

Challenges and Opportunities

Edited by Christoph H Vaagt, Peter Gross

Publication date:

01 September 2015

Publisher

Globe Law and Business

ISBN-13: 9781787420144

The function of the general counsel - and in wider terms, the legal in-house department - has undergone a remarkable change in recent years. Law as such is now understood as a valuable resource, not just as a limit on commercial activities, by businesses around the world. As a result, the way that the legal function is managed is coming under heightened scrutiny from the world of management. This unique new handbook, produced in association with the International Bar Association, includes chapters by leading experts on a diverse range of topics, explaining how legal departments can best support the businesses they serve, devise astute legal strategies, collaborate with other departments to optimum effect and source the skill sets they need, among other things. The consulting editors, Chris Vaagt and Wolf Peter Gross, have both been advisers to legal departments since 1997. The handbook has been compiled to reflect current changes and anticipate what may happen in the future. Readers - whether in-house counsel or private practitioners - will learn new and perhaps surprising lessons about the drivers for change in the traditional world of the business of law.

Part I. Introduction New challenges and opportunities for the general counsel in the 21st Century Christoph H Vaagt Wolf Peter Gross Law Firm Change Consultants Part II. Strategy Integrating law and strategy: the value of legal astuteness Constance Bagley Yale Law School Strategy and the leveraging of legal resources Robert C Bird University of Conneticut Case study: the difference between doing some legal work and adding value Abhijit Mukhopadhya Hinduja Managing legal risk: A bridge too far for lawyers? Peter Kurer Corporate governance Bruno Cova Paul Hastings Part III. Leadership Expanding roles for general counsel: new competencies needed for the 21st Century Leigh Dance ELD General counsel as innovation agents Paul Lippe OnRamp Systems – Legal By Design Lawyers at the revolution Kent Walker Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Google Proactive resource management: a personal learning journey Max Huebner PGGM NV General counsel – leaders in the legal arena Christian Rau DaVita Part IV. Organisation Managing workloads into the future Paul Smith Eversheds Legal standard setters Jochen Deister DMZ Legal Carsten Reimann Xenion Legal The legal disruption dilemma: A case study on new service Filip Corveleyn Felix Rackwitz Tools4Legal GmbH How IT can support managing law in organisations Scott Rosenberg Project Leader Associates Compliance in the area of data management Dennis Grabherr Attorney at Law

Chris Vaagt and Wolf-Peter Gross have put together a remarkable book containing valuable perspectives and contributions on the opportunities and challenges we face, as well as on potential strategies to lead the change more effectively and efficiently.