- DEREK BENTON Director of International Operations, Lexis-Nexis Martindale-Hubbell, London
Lawyers Network Differently as the World Grows Flatter - PETER J. BESHAR EVP and General Counsel, Marsh & McLennan Companies, New York City
Living Through a Corporate Crisis and Preparing for What Might Come Next - JEFFREY CARR General Counsel, FMC Technologies, Houston
Building a Better Legal Service Delivery System - BRUNO COVA, Partner, Paul Hastings, Milan
Reflections on Moving Inside to Outside, and European Counsel Must Improve Compliance - E. LEIGH DANCE, President, ELD International, Inc., New York and Rome
Introduction and European Counsel Must Improve Compliance - JAN EIJSBOUTS, former General Counsel, Akzo Nobel, Amsterdam
Foreword - ROSS FISHMAN, CEO, Fishman Marketing, Highland Park, Illinois
Focus: The Benefits of a Narrow Scope in the Face of Global Opportunity - TIM S. GLASSETT, Former General Counsel, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Beverly Hills, CA
Building and Motivating a High-Performing Global Legal Team - ANN LEE GIBSON, Ann Lee Gibson Consulting, West Plains, Missouri
Feels Like 1990 All Over Again: Law Firm Economic Cycles - FADI HAMMADEH, General Counsel, Dubai Properties Group, Dubai
The Regulatory Pendulum Worldwide: Where are we Headed? - ALAN JENKINS, Chairman, Eversheds LLP, London
Understanding the Importance of Culture in Managing a Global Law Firm - PETER KALIS, Chairman and Global Managing Partner, K&L Gates LLP, New York City
The Signature Legal Challenge of the 21st Century - DESPINA KARTSON, Chief Marketing Officer, Latham & Watkins LLP, New York City
The Role of Law Firm Values in Successful Global Expansion - BRUCE MacEWEN, Founder, “Adam Smith Esq.,”, New York City
Re-thinking Your Global Strategy: Geography, Talent and Management - CHRIS MARSHALL, Pro Bono & Community Manager, Reed Smith and Chair, Board of Trustees, Advocates for International Development, London
International Pro Bono – Broadening our Geographical Reach - DEBORAH MCMURRAY, CEO and Strategy Architect, Content Pilot LLC, Dallas
LAW FIRM 4.0: Considerations for the Global Law Firm in 2020 - MARY MULLALLY, Head of Networks, Practical Law Company, London
How Corporate Counsel in the UK and Europe are Changing, and the Key Elements of Success - MICHAEL O’NEILL, SVP and General Counsel, Lenovo Corporation, Washington D.C.
Fit for Global: Operating Tenets for the General Counsel - JOLENE OVERBECK, Chief Marketing Officer, DLA Piper, New York City
Moving the Global Law Firm Through a Challenging Economy: Focus on Strategy - NORM RUBENSTEIN, Partner, Zeughauser Group, Washington D.C.
The Key to Credible International Branding - THOMAS J. SABATINO, Jr., Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Schering-Plough Corporation, New Jersey
Musical Chairs: How Today’s General Counsel Earns a Seat at the Top Executive Table - HELENA SAMAHA, General Counsel EMEA, AlixPartners, Paris
Transcending Legal Expertise to Get to the Heart of Serving Global Clients - ADAM SMITH, General Counsel, EADS Defence & Security, Munich
Laws are Local: How Can Corporate Legal Services Become More Global? - JOHN H. STOUT, Partner, Fredrikson & Byron, Minneapolis
The Fulfilled International Lawyer: Advice for a Successful Career - DAVID SYED, Senior Partner - Europe, Orrick, Paris
Changing Supply & Demand for Global Legal Services: The Multi-polar Dynamic - MARY K YOUNG, Partner, Zeughauser Group, Washington D.C.
Moving the Global Law Firm Through a Challenging Economy: Focus on Strategy
Procurement of law firms services and global corporate legal departments
Procurement has found the corporate legal department, even for mid-size companies. This means that corporations are providing expertise to their law departments so the corporate legal department derives more value from their providers and utilizes competition among providers as a means to reduce costs.
As corporations put more pressure on their company legal departments to control costs , in-house lawyers will require better forecasting of costs from their law firms. This will require law firms to be better financial managers. Corporate law departments and their internal clients will expect projects to be costed in various segments. Corporate law departments often want bills to be automated, timely and consistent with those forecasts, and for their law firms to consult with them when circumstances warrant a change from a forecast. Transparency in matter and case estimating, budgeting, reporting and billing will become an expectation of many global company law departments.
Stakes are high for global corporate legal departments given the fall-out from regulatory investigations and disputes, and Job 1 is to protect corporate reputation. GCs are under increased pressure to avoid corruption and ensure compliance. More and more of them are under scrutiny or have been indicted. Law firms serving these corporate legal departments must have a respected name and reputation, and the advice must truly fit the company’s objectives and help demonstrate compliance.
There is more focus on evaluation and reporting for corporate legal departments. More and more corporate legal departments want to measure how they’re doing with their internal clients. Some corporate legal departments are taking steps to improve their panel performance measurement and review efforts.
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