For the last two decades, their star has been rising. Once considered purely as professional advisers, in-house counsel are now viewed as valued business partners who help shape and deliver corporate strategies. As regulation has proliferated and the challenges to business intensified, legal input in the early stages of business development and legal oversight of operations has become evermore vital. The responsibilities of in-house counsel have grown accordingly.
Research by the Washington-based Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) testifies to the continued strengthening of the position of the chief legal officer (CLO) or general counsel (GC). Its 2020 Chief Legal Officer Survey reveals that 80 per cent of CLOs now report to their chief executive while 76 per cent attend board meetings and 73 per cent are almost always engaged by their executive leadership team on business decisions. Given this trend, what is the world of the future in-house lawyer likely to look like?