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CCCA_V2No4_LearningRopes-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 11/24/08 3:19 PM Page 19 Cover ey,you must be our new in-house counsel! First day on have expertise in areas that aren’t legal, to get some background the job? Well, welcome! We’re sure you’ll settle in just context,” says Gary Goodwin, executive corporate secretary and Hfine,become part of the team — just as soon as you get counsel at Ducks Unlimited Canada in Winnipeg. “Visit various your bearings, figure out the way things work around here, learn offices that the corporation has,go to meetings that you might oth- the language.That kind of thing. Be sure to check out the compa- erwise not go to — that are open — to give you an idea as to ny’s Intranet for some helpful information on human resources and what’s going on in the business at large.” our corporate history. B. Understand the scope of your job. But we have a confession to make: some (maybe even most) of The role of legal counsel varies from company to company (and the most important information about your new position won’t be from private practice to in-house), and you can save yourself a lot found online or in the pages of any employee handbook. Oh, the of time and heartache by understanding at the outset just which information’s out there, and there’s plenty of it — but you’ll have duties are yours. to do some legwork to uncover it. “As a private practice lawyer,I was used to being responsible for Not sure where to begin? No worries.We’ve enlisted some of and having knowledge of various aspects of a file,” says Amee your more seasoned colleagues from across Canada to help. Sandhu, senior counsel at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in Whether it’s going from “outside” to “in-house,” managing time, Mississauga, Ont.“So when I started at my company, it took me navigating office politics, communicating clearly, or finding effec- awhile to understand that I was expected to know the legal piece, tive ways to show your organization your true value, our experts but the project manager was expected to talk to finance, talk to ease your transition into your new position by filling in some of risk, talk to insurance.” In retrospect, Sandhu says, she should have asked other legal the missing pages in that employee handbook. Read on. counsel about the extent of her responsibilities.“Because the more 1 Leverage your private practice training you’re doing things that aren’t your scope, the less time you’re You’ve heard it a thousand times: law firm culture and spending doing things that are your scope.” corporate culture are worlds apart. But that doesn’t C.Think beyond the org chart. The formal lines of command and organizational structures mean that many of the skills you learned in private practice won’t come in handy in-house, especially at the outset. aren’t the only piece of the puzzle, says Sandhu. It’s good to learn “You get excellent training in private practice, and you can about the informal paths of influence as well, and to leverage the leverage that training,” says Rodney Frank, associate general coun- expertise of your colleagues. sel at Telus in Edmonton.“Lawyers have an excellent work ethic “For example,as of today,I might be a lawyer on an ongoing cus- and they are very thorough. [E]specially during the period where tomer relationship file. But it’s possible that I was not the one who you’re still learning the company’s culture and the business,you can negotiated that contract. So it would help to know who originally rely on those skills.” wrote that contract,or that someone else had been the lawyer on it 2 Learn the business from the inside out knowledge necessary to understand the current relationship.” for ten years, as they might have a particular piece of historical spending real — and not necessarily “legal” — time with its var-3 Yes, of course you’ve familiarized yourself with your Nurture relationships with your clients industry and your corporate history, the financials, the business plan, the economic conditions and the prod- Your clients are your co-workers, and having good relationships with them can make all the difference — ucts. But nothing will teach you more about your company than to your workflow, your priorities, even your mood. By ious units and departments. knowing what they want and need, what pressures they face and “Make a conscious effort to know their business as well as your how work flows (or doesn’t!) in their departments, you can clients do,and they’ll really respect that,”says Frank.“That’s when budget your resources accordingly. you start to come into your own.And that’s what’s going to dis- A. Grab a java. tinguish you from outside counsel.Part of your value to the com- “People are always thrilled when you call them up and say,‘Hey, pany is the speed with which you can operate when you know I’d like to take you out for coffee,’”says Catherine Smith,vice-pres- the issues and the business.You can recognize issues quickly, and ident, legal services and government relations with Best Buy CURTIS TRENT you can say what matters and what doesn’t.” Canada Inc. inVancouver. “In the next months,my team is running informal coffee klatch- A. Get out from behind your desk. es — we’re taking each business group for coffee for half an hour “Establish contacts throughout the organization, people who HIVER 2008 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 19