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CCCA_V2No2_Innovation-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 5/1/08 3:09 PM Page 38 Feature Shauna MacDougall Director of Legal Affairs, 3M Canada London them one to five points in each of seven different performance has also helped to raise awareness, generate traffic and cut areas.Zurich,a major Swiss-based insurance firm,also has a process printing costs. Changes like these have noticeably improved his that formally grades outside counsel.And General Electric Co. has department’s relationship with its clients, he adds. adopted an early case assessment process that tracks cases’ cycle Are initiatives like these proof that BMO’s law department is times and uses ADR methods to reduce litigation and fees. It has intrinsically innovative? Or was it simply a matter of responding also applied Six Sigma to the way it manages outside counsel. creatively to a single particular challenge? Both, says Mackenzie. “Sometimes you respond because you see a problem or a BMO: intranet innovation shortfall,” he says.“But we’re always being pressed to show how Some Canadian law departments are also garnering accolades for we add value, and by being innovative, there’s a greater recogni- their innovative practices. Rick Mackenzie, vice-president and tion that we do add value.It’s important to demonstrate to clients associate general counsel with BMO Financial Group, says his that you’re meeting their service expectations — but what really department worked for some time to develop an intranet that catches their eye is when you point out to them that as a group, would be a useful tool not only for members of his own depart- you’re more effective than a law firm.” ment, but also for the organization’s executive and management. The goal was to improve the way the legal department com- 3M Canada: people power municated with its business units. For the intranet to be effective, Shauna MacDougall, director of legal affairs with 3M Canada (a he says, it was important not only to furnish it with useful con- subsidiary of 3M Company),says the pressure to decrease costs and tent, but to make sure internal clients knew about it and would do more with less — effectively,efficiently,and at the speed of busi- be likely to use it. ness — is both the cause of and the recipe for continuous innova- The desire to increase awareness and use of the intranet was tion. She adds that innovation is a way of life in her department, behind his department’s subsequent idea to place customized which aims to reflect the company’s character. legal microsites, called Legal Corners, on the home pages of Her department has undertaken a number of initiatives in an BMO’s business units. Among other things, Legal Corners offer ongoing effort to add value.For example,there is an effort to have FAQs that are tailored to each particular client. Each Legal lawyers operating “at the ground level,” ingrained in the compa- Corner also links to the main legal site, increasing traffic. ny’s various business teams, so lawyers can offer strategic advice. Mackenzie says the decision to make his department’s “Legal MacDougall’s department has also developed an intranet, FAQs, STEPHEN GRIMES Briefs” (a two- to four-page newsletter) available electronically and electronic request forms for certain standard agreements, and 38 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association SUMMER 2008