Be in a position to influence decision making

The universal top tip for success from Counsel to Counsel panels across the world is that corporate counsel need to be in a position to influence decision making. Said one delegate: "If you are going to play a crucial role in helping companies… you have to be there at the table when the decisions are being taken."

Being part of the decision making process allows corporate counsel to perform their key functions. They can prevent crises from arising, advise companies in a more strategic way and stop litigation disputes from escalating beyond control. Not only will in-house counsel have a better understanding of the business and the demands of commercial colleagues, but it will be invaluable to them when proving their worth to companies.

Talk to your external counsel

One of the most frequent messages heard from the forums was the need to keep the lines of communication with outside advisers open at all times.

Dale Scott, senior vice president and general counsel of Manulife Financial, said: "Without face-to-face contact with the outside lawyers I just do not feel that I can be in control of the relationship and incorporate our corporate culture into the minds of our outside lawyers."

Examples of ways to increase the depth and frequency of communication included setting clear goals and expectations from the start, using telephone and face-to-face meetings in addition to
e-mail updates and making lawyers fully aware of corporate mission statements so that they can work within the company's framework.

Andre Bourque, general counsel of major Canadian information services company CGI, said: "In the end, the best practice for managing external legal services internationally may be simply to find people that you can trust, work with them as team members, share your values and objectives with them and treat them with respect.'

Use technology to the full

Corporate counsel agree that technology has the potential to produce the largest productivity gains.

Information databases, document management systems and law department intranets can all be used to disseminate information. "The online delivery of material is there to create the foundation of knowledge and understanding," said one forum participant. "It creates a better platform on which the counselling and problem solving starts." Technology – in the form of secure web portals, extranets and the opening up of some databases – can also improve relationships with outside advisers.

Maintain a handle on external costs

Top tips for reducing the costs of external firms were a major focus of Counsel to Counsel panels in Asia and the US.

The development of criteria to quantify performance followed up with meetings with law firms to review the results was recommended by one panel member. Comparing actual billable hours with budgeted projections and rewarding those law firms that were most budget-conscious about their assignments with more work in the future were other suggested ways of encouraging outside advisers to be more efficient.

Establish corporate compliance programmes

In the aftermath of the Enron scandal, it is not surprising that the establishment of corporate compliance programmes was seen by corporate counsel as one of the most valuable contributions they could make to their companies.

Michael O'Neill, former general counsel for Honeywell in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and now a partner at US firm Howrey Simon Arnold & White, said an ethical framework made economic sense.

"Anything in the system that adds unneeded cost or increases price, diminishes value delivered to the customer. Operating outside the established legal and ethical process, whether by kickbacks, bribes or misstated financials, adds cost and ultimately destroys value. That is not a sustainable business model. Ethical operation of your business is simply a logical process to enhance customer value and ensure profitability."

Well-maintained compliance programmes that provide employees with procedures to follow in order to identify and resolve problems early in the process were viewed as essential by forum participants. These should include guidelines on what are acceptable business relationships and what are not and which practices are simply unacceptable.

Beware e-mails

Fear of litigation and dealing with incriminating documents is an important concern – and according to one panel member there is only one answer. "You simply have to have a thorough document retention policy," he said.

Senior corporate counsel were united in their fear of e-mails, claiming their informal nature encouraged staff to record thoughts that were often best left unrecorded. A London forum agreed that e-mails should be destroyed unless people made a conscious decision to keep them – and all e-mails should be destroyed after a period of a few months as a matter of course.

Use secondments rather than interns

While hiring interns is a solution that has been used by some counsel to reduce costs, others say training and managing them ends up monopolising the time they devote to training key staff. Several participants have had success with the secondment of lawyers who bring skills to the table immediately.

A senior corporate counsel at one of Japan's largest conglomerates described its law department's successful experience seconding lawyers from both domestic and international firms. She said the practice improved communication with outside counsel and made it harder for the law firms to bill aggressively, given the fact that fee earners were working at the company.

Take steps to raise your profile

Some corporate counsel found that their business colleagues did not appreciate the importance of involving them on important deals or discussions, all the more so in cases where corporate counsel were not members of the board. Several tips were given to address this problem.

When Helena Samaha was appointed group legal counsel at UK-based Virgin, the first thing she did was embark on a 'road show' of the varied business operations of the group. "I called people up and turned up on their doorstep until they agreed to see me," she said. "I then mucked in and people started to understand the value I could add. I found that, after initial resistance, I gained more trust as the relationship developed."

Other tips included working closely with the company's tax experts as deals are usually tax led and providing briefings and seminars for commercial colleagues. Airbus Industrie associate general counsel Colm Mannin found that briefing engineers on topics relevant to their sphere of activity, such as product liability prevention or IP protection, has been invaluable in raising the profile of the legal team. He said: "If you talk to people about where problems can arise and teach them how to deal with them, they then start to say 'these lawyers could be of use to us'. If they later have a problem they then come to us."

Establish a portfolio management approach to commodity matter management internationally

A 'just say no' policy was the top tip from one company at the Toronto forum to manage the myriad of commodity matters that arise internationally. Legal departments must evaluate the risk involved and simply reject those matters that are perceived to be low risk. The most efficient way to do this is to do a risk/reward analysis of matters clamouring for attention to determine whether it is prudent to invest the time and resources into addressing them, or to say no and possibly pay later.

Be flexible

And finally, corporate counsel were urged to remember that outside counsel that companies retain across the world do not always follow instructions. Locally-qualified and experienced lawyers may interpret problems in an entirely new way, based on the jurisdiction they know best. This means that they will not always play by the same rules as in-house lawyers.

One forum participant said that it was important for outside counsel not simply to answer his questions as the client, but to tell him what questions he should be asking.