September Edition: Something new for InView

Hello from a mild winter morning,

I'm writing to you from Tāmaki Makaurau, otherwise known as Auckland, New Zealand. We're as down under as it gets (well apart from Antarctica), but thanks to the digital age, we can bring you our thoughts from the perspective of our global in-house community.

Connection is the driving force of this newsletter. My dream is for it to become something you look forward to reading - like you do your favorite podcast or journal. The intention is to create a virtual space where you can learn and connect with your in-house peers, even when they span far and wide across the earth.

Please get involved by commenting below and letting me know what you want to read in future monthly editions.

What's trending in the in-house world

Adding value and protecting your company in the recession

The chatter of darkening economic times is hard to escape at the moment. For legal function, this means going on the defensive quickly.

1. Focusing on legal spend and reducing costs where possible. What is a nice-to-have, and what is a necessity? Are you spending too much on outside counsel, or perhaps client lunches? Would an investment in legal tech save considerable time on resources doing low-level tasks such as contract review?
2. Improve away inefficiencies - there's always scope to make things better. We recommend starting with processes - how can you make things as efficient as possible?
3. Which leads to automation. Legal tech is your friend when it comes to adding value and cutting costs - adopt AI legal tools that automate low-level, high-frequency work. Even if the initial costs are a little hard to swallow, they will pay off in dividends.
4. Legal ops! Honestly, if you haven't already, get on this bandwagon. The entire goal of legal ops is to improve legal departments, streamlining their processes and creating more efficient, accurate departments as an outcome.
5. Rethink resourcing - but don't necessarily lay them off. Consider if your resources are being put to best use. What on an individual level are your people good at - empower them to do tasks they will excel at and try to ensure they aren't bogged down with low-level work.

A focus on retention

Talk around the 'water cooler' has focused on retention in-house. Bloomberg Law reported that the pay of in-house legal leaders is up 15 percent from 2020. In the age of The Great Resignation, it seems that firms are realizing the value of legal execs and are prepared to do what they need to retain them.

Unfortunately, as the compensation for General Counsels and Chief Legal Officers has increased, Law360 report that the gender pay gap has widened by 11 - 15 percent.

The increase of data privacy litigation - how will this impact business operations

We are witnessing new and increasingly strict regulations governing personal data across the world. Following the EU's GDPR enactment, the US is now pulling in the reigns on the liberty companies take with individual data.

A result is an increase in cybersecurity, biometric, and privacy litigation. Companies don't want or need this additional risk and need to analyze their own data behavior in response.

Jenny Hamilton, GC at Exterro has noted that as a result of GDPR principles being enacted in US states, "These laws mandate active data management; organizations must put their data houses in order. Start by asking questions like, ‘Do you need to collect biometrics to conduct business operations?’ Regulators in Europe are issuing fines for data management missteps on fundamentals like not following retention schedules or disposing of data that are personal, private, and highly sensitive.”

Consider a data inventory - do you need to gather and store all the data on your customers that you currently do? Or are you potentially making yourself liable for litigation?

Imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome and the law have an intimate relationship. I've noticed many blog posts and LinkedIn discussions around this matter, especially from women and minority groups. It's hard to define imposter syndrome specifically, but in essence, it's feeling you are not good enough for your position or a fraud.

In the law, it seems people feel they need to fit within a certain stereotype - an assertive, calculated and dominant personality.

I've read countless posts from lawyers struggling with imposter syndrome and it appears to be no easy battle to win. But here are some strategies I've come across that can help.

1. Focus on your strengths. As humans we tend to focus on the negative, let's change that narrative! Write down what you are good at, for instance, are you a hard worker? Can you solve complex issues? Are you a great communicator? Are you very knowledgeable in a certain area of the law?
2. List your accomplishments! It's easy to forget all that we've achieved. But to get where you are in the first place, you've already achieved plenty - you've graduated from university and law school, you've secured a job, and you've been involved with a variety of projects at work.
3. Try to laugh! If there's one thing you can count on in life, it's things going askew. Changing your mindset to see failures as learning opportunities, and rewire your professional and personal life.

Rise of Alternative Legal Service Providers

The outside counsel marketplace is steadily growing. Priori Legal is an online marketplace for outside counsel, the company secured $15M in Series A-1 financing in July. Co-founder Basha Rubin has said that a perfect confluence of circumstances has spurred their growth. Namely, the great resignation, an increased pressure to cut costs and increase flexibility in legal budgets, and a legal talent shortage.

Member story

InView community member Emily Moore , Principal Lawyer and Director of De Novo Legal, has been on a journey of non-legal learning and exploration. She has recently established her own legal practice (De Novo), which provides specialist commercial and employment advice to NZ and Trans-Tasman businesses. Emily says this experience has been "a crash course in sales, marketing and business strategy!"

An abundance of practical admin is involved in establishing a company, from registration to meeting relevant Law Society requirements and finding the right accountancy setup. Once you get all that out of the way comes the scary part - finding clients. Emily's advice is "learn to market yourself in a way that is authentic to who you are, and be bold in getting yourself in front of people and sharing what you’re doing."

When imposter syndrome hits, she advises making sure you aren't isolated and have moral support - particularly from others ahead or at a similar stage to you.

Before going solo, Emily was Head of Legal and General Counsel. She has developed a toolkit of tips to execute the role best:

• Diplomacy - "being facilitative and creative – being able to come up with alternative options rather than simply saying “no” to risky ideas.
• Critical Thinking - "stepping back regularly to ask if things can be done better, and encouraging your team to do the same."
• Iron-clad trustworthiness and approachability – "ensuring the business aren’t afraid to tell you things you need to know but might not want to hear about."
• Staying connected with other in-house lawyers, especially if you’re a sole counsel or in a leadership position.

Deep reads, best paired with a cup of coffee

Article: Gazing into the crystal ball of in-house legal

Nobody can tell what the future holds, but through observation and analysis we can predict what it may look like. For in-house legal functions one thing is certain, a digital future and more than just legal responsibility. We explore how the likes of ESG, data, tech, and self-service tools are reshaping the function as well as the evolving role of the legal professional themselves.

Article: Taking the power back - how to push back on law firm pricing

Law firm pricing is a highly contentious issue, with both law firms and market laying the blame squarely on the other. Law Squared's Demetrio Zema offers a novel way for corporate clients to take back control of costing and help shift the market to a more favorable place for everyone.

Community top of mind

Thank you to Bobbie Travis, MPA , Legal Operations Manager, Compliance, Ethics and Risk at Splunk, for your thoughts on proximity bias in the hybrid work age. Travis notes that in the post-covid era, hybrid and remote work arrangements are not all rosy, as proximity bias rears its ugly head. For those who haven't heard the term, proximity bias is what occurs when people subconsciously favour their in-person employees or colleagues, and remote workers suffer less recognition and reward as a consequence.

Travis notes that after the pandemic and a serious dose of zoom fatigue, companies have been pushing for employees to return to their desks. She says "remote workers, especially those who were newly transitioned as remote workers, began to feel compelled to work in the office a few days out of the week because they were enduring an internal battle of inferiority with teammates who chose to work in the office. Some of the rising challenges included:

• Inclusiveness and being valued as an equal contributor to a team
• Isolation causes an increase in mental health issues because one may feel forced to work harder to prove their worth & value on a team
• Shifting to remote work could legally change things in terms of operational costs and salary, especially for those associates who moved during the pandemic. One's salary may exceed the competitive rates in their new work location."

Travis says that "it takes a village for us to decrease biases in the workplace. If our leaders set a good example on mitigating biases, then their direction and consistency in messaging should translate to all team members feeling valued, globally. This is why I work for Splunk because we foster an inclusive workplace culture that celebrates the global contributions of all employees."

How are you really feeling?

This one seems to get a lot of lawyers in the feels. Allegedly. ??

Need I say more ?? ...

Even memes know legal tech is the way to go ??.

Trending InView articles this month

I've compiled the top three articles on InView this month for those of you who want to know what our community is reading.

1. What is the difference between the role of the GC and CLO?
2. How to not become jaded being an in-house lawyer.
3. Let's drop the 'cost-center' narrative.

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It appears our in-house community is a force to be reckoned with. I hope you enjoyed our first In-House, InView.

Catch you in a month, I wonder where I'll be next?

P.S for the book nerds and philosophical thinkers out there, Helen Doukas recommends Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. She notes, "the more you can think about the context of life, and the Why - the better you will be at law."