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CCCA_V4No2_Col-News-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No2_Col-News-V1.qxd 4/29/10 4:35 PM Page 49 Nouvelles de l’ACCJE Centre, left to right: Daniel Desjardins, Senior vice-president and general counsel, Bombardier Conference highlights Inc.; Susan Wolburgh Jenah, president and chief executive officer, IIROC; Anne Giardini, presi- dent, Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd.; James J. Blanchard, co-chair, government affairs practice, DLA Piper LLP. Daniel Desjardins, senior vice-president and general counsel at Bombardier Inc., legal officer and corporate secretary at overseen the expansion of his legal team was awarded the Robert V.A. Jones Award, Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. has imple- from one to 10 lawyers in the past decade. named after CCCA’s founding executive mented a number of policies to drive He discussed drafting a business case to director who served the association from down external legal costs, such as using increase in-house headcount. According 1989 to 1999. RFP’s to tender bids for legal work, asking to Richard Stock, a partner at Catalyst Keynote speaker Anne Giardini, presi- for discounts – generally around 7 per cent Consulting, the generally accepted thresh- dent of Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd., dis- — for early payment of legal invoices, old for adding an extra in-house lawyer is cussed The Law Society of British decreasing the number of outside law firms 600 hours of legal work that can be Columbia’s report on “The Business Case and instituting fixed fees for corporate brought in-house. Any hours beyond the for Retaining and Advancing Women immigration matters. 600 mark will lead to savings. Lawyers in Private Practice.” A panel on managing legal costs in the Keynote speaker Susan Wolburgh next decade presented three strategies for A view from the U.S. Jenah, president and chief executive offi- pursuing cost reduction of legal services: Rob Thomas, vice-president, strategic cer of Investment Industry Regulatory in-sourcing legal work, changing the development at Serengeti Law, shared the Organization of Canada (IIROC), discussed specifications for external counsel and results of his firm’s ninth annual survey the role that sound regulation played in different methods of pricing legal work. of American corporate counsel. Key find- helping the Canadian financial sector ings included: avoid the worst effects of the global finan- In-house counsel • Controlling outside legal spend surpassed cial crisis. as business partner compliance requirements as the top con- James J. Blanchard, Former U.S. ambas- Pierre D. Chenard, vice-president and cern for in-house counsel. sador to Canada and co-chair, government general counsel at Rio Tinto Alcan Inc., • The majority of in-house counsel (69.9 affairs practice at DLA Piper LLP, moderated says he has striven to expand the role per cent) provided specific suggestions to a panel on the challenges in the Canadian- played by the in-house legal department their outside counsel to increase the U.S. trade relationship. beyond regulatory compliance and risk value of their services. On Sunday, April 11 before the opening management to being viewed as a business • While hourly rates are still the norm, reception, the CCCA held its annual Spring partner — with in-house counsel at the use of alternative fee structures rose to Training Camp for members who are new to table on all sensitive strategic discussions. 61 per cent of in-house counsel. in-house practice or new legal department Chenard also briefly discuss Rio Tinto’s • In particular, fixed fees (38.0 per cent of managers, and for those experienced legal services outsourcing agreement with in-house counsel), project retainers (15.4 members who want a refresher course. CPA Global, entered into in 2009, which per cent) and contingency fees (10.5 per The two pre-conference workshop streams is projected to save RioTinto up to 20 per cent) are increasingly popular alternatives. addressed the specific challenges of in- cent annually in legal costs. • For next year, in-house counsel predict house practice and were designed to help Donald McCarty, chief legal officer no increase in hourly rates — a first in in-house counsel be as effective as possi- at Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., has the nine years of the survey. ble in their role. ÉTÉ 2010 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 49