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The Business Case for Having a Chief Administrative Officer in Your Law Department
Insights from Rick Palmore, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Sara Lee Corporation*
During the past several years, Sara Lee’s law department has been undergoing a ‘transformation.’ The newly transformed law department is now substantially leaner and the legal service delivery model has been dramatically redesigned. Part of this transformation included creating a new position within the law department—the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)—to coordinate the efficient, effective and holistic delivery of legal services and to help ensure that the right initiatives are undertaken by the law department as a whole.
Rick Palmore, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary for Sara Lee Corporation, explains that, “adding a position at a time when the company was not looking to increase headcount required implementing a thoughtful and formal process and presenting a business case to support the need. My decision to add a CAO was ‘spot on’ and has yielded terrific results.” Below are Palmore’s insights on value added by a CAO and tips to consider in creating the supporting business case. To continue reading, click here.
ACC notes that, while creating a separate business operations/law department executive position within the law department is something that larger departments are sized to do, law departments of all sizes need to address a broad range of law department and legal management issues. The focus that larger law departments give to this issue offers resources and ideas for smaller departments who have not been able to dedicate the financial or manpower resources to staffing this full time. See our Law Department Executive Leadership resources (noted below) for ideas to bring back and consider for your law department.
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ACC’s Law Department Executive Leadership Initiatives
- ACC Web Pages for Law Department Executive Leaders: ACC has created and dedicated a portion of ACC Online to help those who manage the executive management of the law department. In medium to smaller-sized departments, this role is usually played by the CLO, but in larger departments, there is often a leader appointed by the CLO and responsible for managing the department’s strategic, HR, outsourcing and management processes. Whoever is on point for managing the day-to-day operations of the law department, ACC’s Law Department Executive Leadership home page provides a ‘window’ into networks and resources that will help you do the job and excel—including select listings of resources on:
• Managing Outside Counsel
• Law Department Metrics
• Staffing
• Professional Responsibility and Ethics, and
• Technology.
- ACC Law Department Executive Leadership Sessions & Management Reports: Last year, ACC held an inaugural series of Law Department Executive Leadership sessions, designed to bring together a select group of leading Law Department Managers from the largest departments (who were not the CLO, but are charged with full-time responsibility for the department’s management and business decision-making). There are about 50-100 departments of sufficient size to employ such a person – usually a lawyer who no longer practices substantive law. This new network engages in a regular discussion group on hot topics facing today’s law department leaders. We’ve captured their thought leadership in Management Reports that provide executive summaries of these sessions, allowing you to share their ideas and visions on best practices, challenges, and experiences. Additional references that may be of interest:
• Law Department Executive Leadership Session web page includes links to session briefing materials and Management Reports providing executive summaries of session highlights.
• Read the latest Management Reports:
- Developing & Implementing Law Department Metrics that Work
- Strategic Practices for Managing Outside Counsel & Other External Relationships
- ACC’s Leading Practice Profiles – a selection of profiles of leading practices at work in companies on topics of general interest, including a number of themes related to department management.
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Special Update: ACC Filed Amicus in KPMG Indemnification Matter
On January 23, 2008, ACC, in a joint effort with the Chamber of Commerce, filed an amicus in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The amicus urges the court to reject the Thompson Memorandum and its application in this case, which resulted in unfair pressure and unwarranted harm to the common and legitimate business practice of fee advancement. For more on this story and the latest news on privilege, visit www.acc.com/publicpolicy.
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Driven by the Issues and Values of In-House Counsel
Advocacy, pro bono and diversity activities are all areas ACC is passionate about, and through collaborative efforts with our members, ACC has had a direct impact on the profession, as well as in the communities we work and live in. To bring greater attention to the numerous initiatives going on throughout the year, an informative brochure, detailing the challenges we have taken on, and the significant milestones that have been achieved, is now available online. We hope the information in the brochure provides some added inspiration for you to become involved and to join fellow members in the continued effort to broaden the reach and impact of in-house counsel. If you would like additional information about ACC’s advocacy, pro bono and/or diversity efforts, please contact Susan Hackett at hackett@acc.com.
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