Teams, structures and capabilities
Shifting the purpose and priorities of the in-house legal function requires a change in the skills and capabilities within the team or in how the team is structured.
There has been a clear move to recruit team members with a wider variety of skills and experiences to complement core legal capabilities and encourage greater experimentation. Many large in-house legal functions, for example, now have dedicated personnel responsible for managing legal operations, overseeing innovation initiatives and fostering a shift in mindset to a ‘learning from failure’ mentality.
One such area of increased capability development is risk management. As Jonathan Pedersen, a senior counsel at Credit Suisse, says in our report, An innovation playbook for the 'future-fit' legal function, which can be downloaded HERE a greater focus on risk management helps to reposition the legal function as a future-looking steward of legal risk. “We want to be able to identify trends early, to measure and track the right indicators so that we can be ahead of things,” he says.
“This means being able to manage risk proactively, rather than being seen as lagging behind the business, simply there to tidy up afterwards. This requires a transformation in the way we work, supported by the right team, process and capabilities.”
The lessons related to this stage of innovation are
- Lesson 4 - Diversify your teams to foster innovation capabilities at all levels
- Lesson 5 - Adopt the disruptor’s mindset to face brave decisions head-on
Innovation playbook for the ‘future-fit’ legal function
Download the playbook to find out how General Counsel and other leaders responsible for in-house legal services are approaching innovation-based change.
