Page 4 - CCCA61_2009

CCCA_V3No1_EditMessage-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No2_EditMessage-V1.qxd 1/21/09 2:26 PM Page 4 From The Editor Mining the Mot du rédacteur en chef Tirez avantage de silver lining la crise! La récession est le temps d’adopter Make the most of the recession through des approches innovatrices. innovative thinking. Par Jordan Furlong By Jordan Furlong o far, the Recession of 2009 hasn’t yet produced the dire economic ien que la récession n’ait pas encore effects in Canada that the U.S. and Europe are suffering. But as our engendré ici les impacts économiques Spolitical leaders opened the new year emphasizing, there’s no way Bdramatiques qui affectent les É.-U. et we’re going to escape this entirely.We might not get the full U.S.blizzard,but l’Europe, le Canada ne sera pas totalement we’re under a winter storm warning nonetheless,and the forecasts so far have épargné par la crise. not exactly been reliable. Les départements de droit corporatif subis- Corporate law departments have been especially unhappy to see the sent déjà une pression visant à réduire leurs downturn arrive.As if it weren’t enough to have more duties and concerns coûts. Mais il y a un côté positif à la récession : constantly added to their list of responsibilities, in-house lawyers are simulta- les temps durs offrent une occasion exception- neously under ever-tightening pressure to reduce expenses.The phrase “cost nelle d’établir des avantages concurrentiels centre”has been heard bandied about some C-Suites,in ominous tones,with grâce à des choix stratégiques.Les chroniqueurs reference to Legal. Richard Stock et Patrick McKenna proposent But if there’s a silver lining to a recession, it’s that the status quo is not an de nombreuses solutions dans ce numéro. option — good news for corporate counsel who’d like to see quite a few Face à la récession, la plupart de vos com- things done differently than in the recent past. In this issue, columnists pétiteurs procéderont à des congédiements, Richard Stock and Patrick McKenna offer numerous prescriptions for effect- fermetures et autres réductions de coûts. ing those changes. L’histoire démontre que ce ne sont pas les But hard times also offer the rare opportunity to establish competitive bons choix. advantage through strategic choices. Look at it this way: most of your com- Les entreprises ayant investi en RD durant petitors will react to the recession with the same old responses: layoffs, clo- la Grande Dépression ont créé la radio d’au- sures, reductions across the board. But history shows us that companies that tomobile, la photocopieuse, le rasoir élec- lean into the wind of a recession come out ahead. trique et bien d’autres inventions. Google est Forward-thinking individuals and companies that invested in R&D during née des cendres de l’explosion de la bulle dot- the Great Depression gave us neoprene (synthetic rubber), the car radio, the com et certaines des compagnies américaines photocopier, the electric razor, and sticky tape, among many other inventions. les plus performantes ont été fondées trois Google emerged from the rubble of the dot-com crash,while some of the top mois après les attentats du 11 septembre. Bref, new U.S.businesses were founded in the three months following 9/11.There’s lorsque la majorité bat en retraite,c’est l’occa- a real opportunity for advancement when everyone else is retreating. sion d’effectuer de véritables avancées. How can you apply this to your in-house department? When other cor- Les départements juridiques devraient porations are pressuring law firms for discounts, talk to your outside counsel examiner, par exemple, des arrangements de about risk-and-reward-sharing fee arrangements. When others are scaling facturation axés sur le partage des risques avec back their legal work, look seriously at what legal process outsourcing in les cabinets externes et les occasions de sous- India can offer.When your annual budget gets reduced, invest in advanced traitance en Inde.Lorsque le budget annuel de IT that can streamline and commoditize certain legal tasks. votre organisation est réduit, il faut investir The funny thing about boom times is that they reduce the incentive to dans des solutions TI qui peuvent rationaliser innovate and think differently; when your boat is a luxury yacht, why rock certaines tâches juridiques.L’économie va mal, it? But when the economy goes badly, that could be just the right time to certes, mais c’est l’occasion de changer cer- shake loose from old habits and try something different. Now’s your chance. taines vieiles habitudes. Send your comments to ccca@ccca-cba.org. Commentaires? ccca@ccca-cba.org. 4 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association SPRING 2009