When choosing a career as a Chief Legal Officer, it`s important to research tasks, job descriptions, salaries, benefits, and requirements. The job description varies by company, but gives a general idea of the steps needed to enter this field. Today`s Chief Legal Officer (CLO) is multidimensional and no longer just an extraordinary legal tactician. An OCOL is also a strategic thinker and senior executive who operates at the highest and most influential level of the company. To succeed in the role of Chief Legal Counsel, an OCOL must divide their time between «four faces»: strategist, catalyst, tutor and operator. An OCOL recognizes the legal risk of new businesses, but can also place that decision in the broader context of the business. What executives are beginning to realize is that general counsel can provide better legal advice if they have a thorough understanding of the business and the industry. A GC participates in important contract negotiations and regularly makes effective organizational decisions. During law studies, it is important to choose an area with a legal focus. A recommendation for someone interested in becoming a lawyer is corporate law. Most law schools require a person to take courses on general law topics, but later on, this allows a person to focus more on their interests. Courses that can assist in future employment as a Chief Legal Officer include intellectual property law, corporate governance, corporate finance, public company disclosure, corporate professional liability, and advanced corporate transactions. If the company is involved in litigation, the general counsel may represent the firm directly, lead the legal team that does so, or choose the lawyer who will do so.
Catalyst: A catalyst provides a competitive advantage by providing the legal perspective and critical advice needed to facilitate the management team`s ability to choose the right path forward and set the tone at the top of the company. You may be considering hiring a general counsel or chief legal officer to manage your company`s legal affairs, but you may not know which position is best for your business. Here are the differences between a general counsel and a chief legal officer. It is OCOL`s duty to inform company employees of potential liabilities, legal issues and possible courses of action. The presentation may be oral or written. He or she is required to translate complicated legal terms so that employees can understand them. OCOL recommendations must be consistent with applicable law. In addition, recommendations should aim to minimize legal risks in the business. GC`s role is to provide legal advice that helps the company achieve its business objectives. It may sound simple, but it`s quite complex.
Today`s business leaders are looking for much more general counsel than legal advice. Expectations for CCs are high and are unlikely to change in the future. When looking for a general counsel, it would be wise to look for a candidate with a cross-functional business background or someone with extensive work experience. Each OCOL is responsible for overseeing all aspects of legal affairs, including: Basically, an OCOL deals with legal matters in the business. Different organizations have different roles in relation to this position. However, the main tasks are to inform the management team of emerging legislative changes. This includes both new and existing laws that may affect the company`s business operations. OCOL is also responsible for guiding staff through a curriculum on business law issues. How do OCLs manage their time so they can focus on the strategist and catalyst categories? By focusing on building a strong legal function and/or creating leverage in your legal department to manage the guardianship and operator functions. While it may initially be necessary for new OCOL to spend 60-65% of their time as tutors and operators (repairing or restructuring what they have inherited), it is important that new OCOL avoid spending the majority of their time on these long-term responsibilities, as this could signal to the rest of senior management that OCOL is not becoming a management strategy. Both positions bring value to your business, but in different ways.
A general counsel will provide you with all the legal advice and support you need. If you`re just looking for extra help managing your legal team and ensuring compliance is maintained in every way possible, then a GC is a great option. However, if you are interested in a more dedicated role for your business that can provide business value in addition to legal advice, the Chief Legal Officer is a better choice. The role of CLO has actually grown a lot lately, being ranked the sixth fastest C-suite title of 2020 with 23% growth, according to Workforce Insights. An experienced legal recruitment firm facilitates the entire hiring process with: It can take months for your company to fill internal legal positions, and even if the position is filled, the candidate may not be a good candidate. A general counsel or chief counsel role and other key positions in the legal department must be filled quickly with the right qualified professionals. Understanding the unique responsibilities of each role can help you hire the right person for the job and lead your organization in the right direction when it comes to your legal affairs. If there isn`t already a strong legal operations manager, finding one should be a top priority. If we checked a year after an OCOL took over a legal department, the biggest regret is that we didn`t make talent decisions sooner – putting the right people in the right role, realigning the team, or separating people who are difficult or whose skills don`t match the department`s needs.
Guardian: In Guardian mode, you need to lead the company`s legal and regulatory affairs, manage complexity while minimizing risk. This is the core responsibility of the role of Chief Legal Officer and the in-house legal team. This includes ensuring that the company complies with regulatory codes, which usually means that bids are received by the right agencies on time and completed correctly.