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“They [general counsel] can go in a quantitative way and “Early detection is the biggest beneft,” she says. “If you can
talk about risk in the organization,” says Matthew Peters, Part- catch a problem or a weakness in your system before it becomes
ner and National Innovation Leader at McCarthy, which pro- a real problem, it allows you stay on top of your compliance
vides data analytics support and services. Previously, he adds, program and be on top of your game.” With any change in busi-
“they would talk about it more anecdotally; now they can do so ness activities and risk levels, she adds, “it allows you to see if
with much more authority because of the data behind it.” your processes are still adequate.”
As organizations explore the “untapped treasure trove” of Getting a grip on data can also generate effciencies with bot-
information at hand, Peters urges close attention to protection tom-line impact. That’s the experience of Paula Pepin, Global
of privacy. “Confdentiality, privilege and privacy are incredibly Head of Legal at Hootsuite, a Vancouver-based technology
important and they have to be thought through before you do company that has shot to global prominence for its widely-used
anything,” he cautions. platform to manage social media.
Also important, say industry experts, is the skill to ask the Her department supports Hootsuite’s enterprise sales
right questions about data and communicate with manage- team, managing hundreds of legal negotiations with major
ment about the fndings. customers every quarter. Hootsuite recently implemented
“For in-house counsel, it is incumbent on them if they want a new tool allowing legal reviews to be submitted through
to be part of the business process and be seen as successfully Salesforce.com, a customer relationship management plat-
contributing to the business that they talk the same language as form. Requests for contract reviews are now submitted
the rest of the business,” says Exigent CEO David Holme. through the platform to Hootsuite lawyers who perform a
Data analytics, he adds, is not “the end in itself” but one part triage based on the complexity of a deal, relevant deadlines
of an overall strategy by in-house counsel and other company and the time required for a response.
experts equipped to capitalize on the use of algorithms. “The “It really helps them prioritize their workfow,” she says. Data
truth lies in this ensemble of expertise that uses the tools avail- on the volume and risk level of contracts, and lawyer response
able,” he says. “That is where the magic lies.” time feeds into her department’s quarterly performance reports.
For some companies, data analytics assists That information, in turn, becomes the basis for an evidence-
in compliance. Isabelle Pierre, Deputy Gen- driven discussion on staffng.
eral Counsel and Director of Legal at General “My discussion with the chief fnancial offcer is not ‘we are
Dynamics Lands Systems Canada in London, busy, I need somebody else.’ It is that if you want us to reach
Ont., says her department examines data to that revenue number, I need an extra resource. If not, we will
test existing compliance controls. be a bottleneck.”

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