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CCCA_V4No4_ClientRevolution-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 10/27/10 3:17 PM Page 30 Feature transparency, far more control over their legal spend.” At the same time, law firms are also facing ever more formida- ble presences in the in-house department.The position of general counsel has grown in stature, as corporate governance has moved to the top of companies’ priority lists over the past decade. Indeed, a recent Eversheds report on the post-recession legal sector in 2010 found that 75 per cent of general counsel “now occupied a far more senior commercial advisory role in their com- panies compared to before the recession.”As former GE GC Ben W. Heinemen told the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association’s 2010World Summit inToronto in September:“The general coun- sel has come to have a status comparable to that of the CFO.” There is no question that a new balance of power, favouring clients over their legal service providers,is asserting itself as one of the most important trends in the industry. Key aspects of this rev- olution include in-house lawyers’ familiarity with firms, alterna- tive fee possibilities, globalization and the emergence of reliable pricing models. Inside job In-house lawyers are far more skilled in law and business than some law firms still suppose them to be, but ironically enough, corporate counsel benefit especially from their background in law firms. It’s common practice for in-house lawyers to have spent their formative years in law firms before joining a law department. Caroline Haney of Haney Legal Recruitment in Montreal estimates that up to 80 per cent of her recruitment mandates come from in-house, par- ticularly in the current climate in which firms aren’t doing much hiring. As a result, says Kevin Derbyshire, chief administra- tive officer & general counsel at E.I. DuPont Canada Company, the level of expertise and skill sets of in- house counsel has risen significantly. “They under- stand the law firm environment, because they were in it.”Law firms that negotiate with in-house depart- ments are up against people who know very well how firms operate and how much it costs them to carry out tasks. But corporate counsel also possess a solid under- standing of their business environment,one in which corporate bosses evaluate their general counsel, just like the heads of other business units.“With that sort PAUL EEKHOFF of rigour and discipline, you’re measured against how Kevin Derbyshire compliant you are with that project management process,” Chief administrative officer and general counsel says Derbyshire.“So it’s something that the general counsel E.I. DuPont Canada Mississauga and in-house counsel expect now from law firms.” 30 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association WINTER 2010