Corporate America's hit-or-miss approach to succession planning
Consider this: Approximately one-quarter of current general counsel in the Fortune 500 are now over 60, and recent SEC actions suggest that organizational succession planning for general counsel may soon become a question of legal compliance.
August 04, 2013 at 08:00 PM
5 minute read
Consider this: Approximately one-quarter of current general counsel in the Fortune 500 are now over 60, and recent SEC actions suggest that organizational succession planning for general counsel may soon become a question of legal compliance.
It's no surprise then, that, as Julie Preng, managing director for the Legal Center of Expertise at Korn/Ferry International, wrote on page 34 of this issue, “transition due to succession is likely to be a hallmark of the next five years in corporate America.”
The question is, how prepared is corporate America for this trend—especially in the legal department?
In her article, Preng suggested that the answer is, not very. Too frequently, she wrote, GC succession is “ad hoc … left to chance or, worse, to urgent need.” As a result, “the company can be caught short, and the gap [caused by the GC's departure] may create high risk.”
My own research confirms this. Over the past two years, I have spent more than 200 hours in conversations with women who report directly to the general counsel. When we discussed how well their companies do when it comes to following best practices in executive leadership development—the stuff from which effective succession planning emanates—our conversations can be summed up in three words: hit or miss.
If you stratify these conversations, you'll find that the GCs' approaches toward leadership development fall into four buckets:
-
The approach is driven by the CEO and the company.
-
The general counsel is committed to developing leaders and dedicates time and resources to them.
-
While the GC is intellectually interested, he devotes little time and demonstrates little consistent interest.
-
The GC avoids the subject entirely.
At InsideCounsel, we believe that executive leadership development driven by the GC is or should be one of every legal department's most important priorities. Because we are committed to driving that conversation, we will continue to focus on these topics in the magazine, our website, and through regional and national events.
While creating a list like the R-3 100 (see p. 28) is relatively easy, the work required to engineer innovative programs geared to cultivating the next generation of leaders is a hard and tough slog. Our motto going forward is “move the dial or move on.” In that vein, we are creating an advisory board of GCs, deputy GCs, executive leadership development professionals and executive coaches to develop innovative curricula to foster the best possible next generation of general counsel. Hit or miss is no longer an acceptable option.
Consider this: Approximately one-quarter of current general counsel in the Fortune 500 are now over 60, and recent SEC actions suggest that organizational succession planning for general counsel may soon become a question of legal compliance.
It's no surprise then, that, as Julie Preng, managing director for the Legal Center of Expertise at
The question is, how prepared is corporate America for this trend—especially in the legal department?
In her article, Preng suggested that the answer is, not very. Too frequently, she wrote, GC succession is “ad hoc … left to chance or, worse, to urgent need.” As a result, “the company can be caught short, and the gap [caused by the GC's departure] may create high risk.”
My own research confirms this. Over the past two years, I have spent more than 200 hours in conversations with women who report directly to the general counsel. When we discussed how well their companies do when it comes to following best practices in executive leadership development—the stuff from which effective succession planning emanates—our conversations can be summed up in three words: hit or miss.
If you stratify these conversations, you'll find that the GCs' approaches toward leadership development fall into four buckets:
-
The approach is driven by the CEO and the company.
-
The general counsel is committed to developing leaders and dedicates time and resources to them.
-
While the GC is intellectually interested, he devotes little time and demonstrates little consistent interest.
-
The GC avoids the subject entirely.
At InsideCounsel, we believe that executive leadership development driven by the GC is or should be one of every legal department's most important priorities. Because we are committed to driving that conversation, we will continue to focus on these topics in the magazine, our website, and through regional and national events.
While creating
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All3 GOP States Join Paid Sick Leave Movement, Passing Ballot Measures by Wide Margins
5 minute readQuantum Computing Company to Part With General Counsel
Ten Best Practices to Protect Your Organization Against Cyber Threats
7 minute readTrending Stories
- 1In Lame-Duck Session, US Senate Confirms Illinois Federal Judge on Bipartisan Vote
- 2Gordon Rees Opens 80th Office, ‘Collaboration Hub’ in Palo Alto
- 3The White Stripes Drop Copyright Claim Against Trump Campaign
- 4Law Firm Accused of Barratry for Allegedly Soliciting Crash Victims
- 5Carlton Fields Downsizes in Move to New Atlanta Office
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250