Understanding The Function Of A Senior Legal Counsel Defining A Senior Legal Counsel A senior legal counsel is a senior lawyer or member of the in-house legal team who provides high-level legal support for a business or organization. Senior legal counsels are more experienced than regular corporate lawyers, either because they have been in-house counsel for longer than the requisite number of years or because they have otherwise acquired a greater range of experience. Senior legal counsels, therefore, are able to provide more substantial legal advice on a wider range of issues than any other members of an in-house legal team.Senior legal counsels lead in-house legal teams, both by overseeing and working together with other members of the legal team . They are responsible for representing a business or organization in high-level negotiations, litigation, and other critical matters. They are tasked with managing large legal teams on complex disputes and make important decisions concerning individual litigation on behalf of the business or organization.With their extensive experience, senior legal counsels are often tasked with advising on high-level business decisions and plans that may have significant legal implications. They assess the legal implications of the business or organization’s proposed actions based on business interests, the chances of success in litigation, and the potential recovery. In some cases, they must make recommendations about how the business or organization should proceed. Essential Competencies Of A Senior Legal Counsel A senior legal counsel should possess a well-rounded set of skills that combine deep expertise in the field of law with soft skills that help him or her serve the company while providing effective counsel to the company’s leaders. These individuals will be experienced professionals with at least five years of experience working in-house as a part of a legal team, although many have significantly more experience than that.Senior-level legal counsels should have a minimum of the following: With the legal expertise necessary to serve in this role, a senior legal counsel will typically choose to specialize in a specific area of law, which means he or she could need to possess additional knowledge in areas relating to IP protection, cybersecurity compliance, antitrust law, or any other legal area of concern. (For instance, a senior legal counsel in the information technology department may need to have more in-depth knowledge of internet regulations and privacy laws.)Again, both hard and soft skills will contribute significantly to the effectiveness of a senior legal counsel, but those looking to hire one of these individuals should not overlook the vital importance of soft skills. Even though hard skills in specific areas of law are essential for this position, soft skills such as adaptability, communication, problem-solving, creative thinking, leadership, stress management, conflict management, attention to detail and overall emotional maturity are crucial. For example, ranking highly in attention to detail, even above the vast majority of other soft skills, is essential for legal counsels specifically because of their need to sift through large amounts of information and pull apart specific parts of the information relevant to the job at hand.The requirements for a senior-level legal counsel will vary significantly depending on the type of organization in which the position is found. For example, a large organization may have a specialized senior legal counsel specific to particular practice areas, while an organization with fewer legal needs may have just one individual handling all needs in an "of counsel" type position. Academic Qualifications And Work Experience Required Most senior legal counsel are admitted to the bar in their state and possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school. Some employers may give preference to candidates with a master of laws (LL.M.) in taxation, intellectual property, or other applicable field. Licenses, certifications, and other specialized training may be required for certain subject matter areas. At least eight years of corporate attorney experience is commonly required. Senior Legal Counsel Across Various Sectors Senior legal counsel can be found working in virtually all industries, the most notable being: the financial, telecommunications, technology, resources, food, health, energy and infrastructure, defence, not-for-profit and in the public service. However, the roles and responsibilities of the senior legal counsel are not the same across all these industries. With the diversity of industries that the senior legal counsel operate in, they are required to have an understanding of how each industry operates, who the key influencers are and how to build rapport with them. As a senior legal counsel, you need to adapt your approach and communication style depending on who you are interacting with in the organisation.Food and beverage companies – These companies have large and complex supply chains. The senior legal counsel is required to have a deep understanding of the supply chain so that they can assist with the numerous complex legal issues that arise, such as trade practices issues relating to quality, safety, environmental, Kosher and other certifications/claims, food standards compliance, licensing (eg the production and sale of alcohol).Energy – Although the energy market is highly regulated at both a Commonwealth and state level, the amount and complexity of legislative requirements differs significantly from state to state. The senior legal counsel must be across all of the regulatory requirements applicable to the operation of the business and a part of the operations team. The senior legal counsel can be a point of view between the board and management, along with being an important point of contact with external stakeholders such as government departments, other industry bodies, contractors and investors.Government – Rock-solid public sector ethics and compliance is paramount. The senior legal counsel must assist with ensuring all staff understand their conduct obligations and oversee the development of appropriate procedures.Infrastructure – This sector includes PPPs and projects with government agencies such as roads, rail, airports, water, energy etc. Senior legal counsel are usually involved from the procurement and negotiation phases of the tenders. The senior legal counsel may play a significant role in negotiating the contracts that can often involve financing arrangements. All of this, of course, must be done while having a good understanding of the political implications that these projects may bring. Professional Growth And Progression For Senior Legal Counsel A senior legal counsel is not the final stage in a lawyer’s career. In fact, the majority of senior legal counsels can go on to become either General Counsels or Chief Legal Officers at a company.This is because companies will almost always promote senior legal counsels who have been with the company for a long time. This promotion is usually very rapid because the company will have a vested money interest in keeping the senior legal counsel within their own offices rather than see them move to another company .In large companies, it is also common for a General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer to "move up" within the organization. For instance, they may be promoted to a higher executive-level position related to business strategy, advising the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), or other high-level corporate executives on financial matters.Thus, no matter what your plans are after finishing law school, it is common for them to have the highest possible law position within a company after several years of experience. Common Issues And Considerations For Senior Legal Counsel One of the main challenges for senior legal counsel is maintaining the fine balance between managing a team and getting the work done. As the legal team members are often junior to the senior legal counsel, delegating substantive legal work can be difficult. A major objective will be to manage the increasing demands from your business units while developing the next level of leaders within the legal department. Another common challenge is dealing with the cost impact of the increasing amount of outsourcing. While there are many benefits to law firms that are strategically mindful of cost, including meeting all of the reporting and compliance requirements of retaining outside counsel, moving to increasingly alternative fee arrangements (which include fixed fees and budgets) can be difficult for those law firms who are still trying to understand the practice of law in the new economy. Senior legal counsel must also manage strategic career aspirations for success. As the concept of bench-strength is becoming more important for corporate legal departments, many senior legal counsel are being asked to develop their successors. How do you help to develop bench strength with a robust career path for all of your legal team? When do you know it is time to move a senior legal counsel to the next level? Is your corporate legal department highly mobile? One of the most challenging tasks for senior legal counsel is adequate resource calibration. Many corporate legal departments are working with fewer resources while being asked to manage and oversee firm-wide projects. What protocols can you put in place to ensure that the business goals are being met? Have you benchmarked your metrics with those of other corporate legal departments? The Influence Of Automation And AI On The Role Of Legal Counsel The advancement of technology is changing the way senior legal counsels are offering their services and interacting with clients. To stay competitive, you need to be able to adapt to the tools and changes that are affecting the role of the in-house counsel.Possibly one of the hottest topics in technology affecting the role of legal counsels is artificial intelligence. Most believe that AI won’t replace the need for legal counsel, but rather it’ll be used as a tool to help them become more efficient. With AI, legal counsel can now have access to things such as predictive coding, legal chatbots, contract review and research programs, and document automation. The use of these technologies will allow legal counsel to spend less time on busy work and allow them to focus more on strategic planning and advice.The use of Cloud-based software is also improving the way legal counsel is able to interact with clients. Having this sort of software means that they can work from anywhere, at any time, provided they have internet access. Cloud-based software is also cost effective , allowing for the legal team to cut the need for costly in-house servers and IT support. By investing in cloud-based software, legal counsels can save on costs while also increasing their ability to collaborate with clients and other outside lawyers.Legal counsels are also now being encouraged to have more social media presence. With more businesses and digital marketing companies using LinkedIn and other platforms to communicate with clients or potential clients, the result will be an increased need for legal counsels to have some presence on social media so that they can keep abreast of the latest trends and changes in legal news.Although technology is not going to replace the need for a legal counsel, being well versed in the new tools and methods that are being introduced to the legal industry is going to be an important part of growing as a senior legal counsel. Keeping up to date on the impact of technology and knowing how to utilize it to your advantage has now become an essential part of being a legal counsel.