Page 23 - CCCA 250375 Magazine_Summer 2016

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Filling Legal Holes during Peak Periods perience with Pfzer. Not only did he become a better internal
Secondments can also be a good way to manage the peaks and client for the global trademark operations, but they also learned
about his department’s capabilities.
valleys of workfow. For instance, tapping an external law frm
Cullen says it’s also incumbent on the managers of in-house
and using a secondment is good for backflling a maternity legal talent to provide opportunities for members of their team.
leave. As well, if a restructuring or M&A project arises, or if a
piece of litigation starts to gain prominence, secondments can By encouraging top legal talent to spread their wings and take
opportunities to learn the business by crossing over to other
help General Counsel better manage and utilize resources.
For example, Nicholas Dobbek, a lawyer at the securities law departments it provides managers and employees in those de-
boutique Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, worked on a secondment for the partments with “exposure” to the legal department’s top talent.
frm’s client Aequitas Innovations Inc., when it was readying to enter
the market as an alternative trading provider and stock exchange.
He joined for about a year at a time when Aequitas was work- It Can take many, many years to
ing on obtaining its recognition order from securities regulators aCquIre tHe same Internal laW
allowing it to operate, which he says can be a “long road” for a knoWledge oF a Company IF you
company to travel. In addition, as a start-up, Aequitas was deal- are WorkIng For It externally.
got to see how the company made business decisions and man- 
ing with a slew of commercial matters that had to be dealt with.
Diego Pereira, Legal Counsel,
“It was interesting being on the other side,” Dobbek says. He
TELUS Communications Company
aged its risk, something that external counsel are not privy to—
but can learn a lot from. “We don’t see all the business negotia- He adds that secondments are also great for networking,
tions that go on. It was a window into that whole other world.”
However, Pfzer’s Cullen points out that it can be diffcult for something with which many young lawyers are uncomfortable.
corporate law departments to hire for short-term projects and However, he says, networking is “critical” to career develop-
it doesn’t always make sense, as the amount of time a lawyer has ment. His secondments have helped him build his trusted net-
work of professionals both inside and outside the organization.
to spend getting up to speed and learning how to navigate the
Under his frm’s secondment program, he says, if a lawyer
organization can outstrip the time of the project. If you can sec- wants to “spend six months working in a business unit not act-
ond someone internally or from the outside who already knows
the business and subject matter, “the expectation is you already ing as a lawyer to learn more about the business, Pfzer is abso-
lutely open to that, but it has to make business sense.” He adds,
paid for all of that. It’s up to [the secondee] to deliver.”
“There are no limits to what an organization can set up as a
Extending Tentacles development opportunity.”
Secondments, explains OSC’s Chandra, are a “win-win if you
Secondments are also a chance for the legal de- fnd a way to do it right.” ❚
partment to showcase its talent and the
contribution that its lawyers bring
to the company. Take Cullen’s ex- Jim Middlemiss is a writer based in London, Ontario.

management support CrItICal For seCondment suCCess

On paper, the notion of seconding a lawyer someone has to take on your work while you ment to support from management. “I had a
from the legal department to another division are gone or there has to be some type of ac- lot of support and mentorship.”
of the company looks simple. However, the commodation. The lawyer can’t be expected While some lawyers might be concerned about
reality is that there are plenty of pitfalls and to do two full-time jobs at the same time. the impact on their career from being out of
hidden hurdles, which can sour the experi- Then again, lawyers taking on secondments the loop while on secondment, don’t worry—
ence if they are not well managed. shouldn’t expect the workload to lighten it’s not an issue. “Face time to me is a red
Success, say those who have experience either. Chances are there will be some fle herring,” says Nicholas Cerminaro, Director of
with secondments, hinges on management’s project overlap at the front and back end of Legal Services at Bombardier. “There are ways
willingness to bend and think outside the the secondment, so time management is an to stay in the loop while you are away.”
box, and the energy and effort of the lawyer essential skill. Third, in-house counsel will only get out of a
undertaking the secondment. A second critical factor is support from above. secondment what they put into it, and don’t
One of the frst problems, notes Jonathan Swapna Chandra, Senior Legal Counsel in the expect it to be easy. Chandra likens the expe-
Cullen, Vice President of Legal Affairs and Enforcement Branch at the Ontario Securities rience to “being the new kid on the block. You
General Counsel at Pfzer Canada Inc., is that Commission, credits her successful second- have to go ready to learn.”

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