Rethinking general counsel

General counsel (GCs) need to measure their performance and commercial value in order to gain the wider business influence they seek.

Research by Nabarro LLP among GCs and CEOs over the past year found nearly one in seven GCs feel it is not particularly important that the in-house legal team should add commercial value to the business. None of the CEOs agreed.

Most GCs expressed a desire to reach the top of their companies in terms of board influence and involvement in strategic planning and development of commercial opportunities. The research showed they need to measure their value and demonstrate it in order to succeed.

However, less than a third of GCs use a formal performance measurement system.

Jonathan Warne, partner at Nabarro, says: “Measuring value is often seen as a challenging process for an in-house legal team.

“There may be concerns about resourcing, the introduction of bureaucracy or inadequate returns. Our conversations with GCs and experts in the field suggest it need not be that way.

“Simple and practical approaches and systems can be introduced to clarify objectives, improve performance and measure value. Such tools should make it easier to run an in-house legal department, and may also make it simpler to identify areas in which GCs and other senior in-house lawyers can attain leadership.”