ACC Update - March 21, 2007 (Plain Text Version)

CLO as Spokesperson with the Media: Be Responsive, Prepared and Proactive

Insights from Don McCarty, Vice President, Law- General Counsel and Secretary, Imperial Tobacco Canada

“In-house lawyers tend to have a natural tendency to shy away from the media during trial or on legal issues generally —to say ‘no comment’ or to comment minimally. While this adheres to the historical conservative paradigm, not being proactive can give rise to ‘urban myths,’ which then take more time and energy to debunk than addressing the issues in the first place,” explains Don McCarty, Vice President, Law- General Counsel and Secretary for Imperial Tobacco Canada. As a better and preferred practice, McCarty advocates taking a more proactive approach: putting out the first story and getting the company’s message out early and accurately. Following are tips shared by McCarty for CLOs as spokespersons and for effectively implementing practices to be proactive with the media and get the company’s message out.

PREVENTING URBAN MYTHS- BEING PROACTIVE IS BETTER THAN DIGGING OUT
McCarty describes ‘urban myths’ as messages put out by detractors or opponents and repeated often enough in the media so that they acquire perceptions of truth in the public opinion even when the messages are not true. These ‘urban myths,’ if they get out in front of the public first and are allowed to fester, require more time and energy to address and correct in reactive mode than handling the issues head-on and up front would. Past experience with de-bunking ‘urban myths’ has led McCarty to believe that being proactive is the preferred path.

“We’ve worked hard to try to distinguish the Canadian Tobacco Industry because we have our own story. We’re telling our story more and fighting these urban myths, and in-house lawyers have a real and valued role to play,” says McCarty.

CLO AS SPOKESPERSON
While most companies have a public affairs team on point for media relations, McCarty shares that sometimes-- particularly when reporting on a litigious issue or matter that’s in trial-- the media resists being given a spokesperson from public affairs and instead wants to speak directly with the CLO as the ‘person in charge of the litigation.’ Asked whether outside counsel might be a good choice as spokesperson on trial issues, McCarty expresses his view that he prefers for his lawyers in court “to concentrate on what is happening in court” and to take on the proactive role of working with the media as the company’s CLO. There can of course be exceptions to this rule, particularly when an external counsel has for historical reasons been dealing with a case for longer than anybody and has a deep knowledge of the issues. In this case, the external counsel should be briefed on what the company’s messages are.

Read the rest of this article.

Insights from Don McCarty, Vice President, Law- General Counsel and Secretary, Imperial Tobacco Canada

PREVENTING URBAN MYTHS- BEING PROACTIVE IS BETTER THAN DIGGING OUT
McCarty describes ‘urban myths’ as messages put out by detractors or opponents and repeated often enough in the media so that they acquire perceptions of truth in the public opinion even when the messages are not true. These ‘urban myths,’ if they get out in front of the public first and are allowed to fester, require more time and energy to address and correct in reactive mode than handling the issues head-on and up front would. Past experience with de-bunking ‘urban myths’ has led McCarty to believe that being proactive is the preferred path.

“We’ve worked hard to try to distinguish the Canadian Tobacco Industry because we have our own story. We’re telling our story more and fighting these urban myths, and in-house lawyers have a real and valued role to play,” says McCarty.

CLO AS SPOKESPERSON
While most companies have a public affairs team on point for media relations, McCarty shares that sometimes-- particularly when reporting on a litigious issue or matter that’s in trial-- the media resists being given a spokesperson from public affairs and instead wants to speak directly with the CLO as the ‘person in charge of the litigation.’ Asked whether outside counsel might be a good choice as spokesperson on trial issues, McCarty expresses his view that he prefers for his lawyers in court “to concentrate on what is happening in court” and to take on the proactive role of working with the media as the company’s CLO. There can of course be exceptions to this rule, particularly when an external counsel has for historical reasons been dealing with a case for longer than anybody and has a deep knowledge of the issues. In this case, the external counsel should be briefed on what the company’s messages are.

Read the rest of this article.

Concerned About Rising Associate Salaries?

Local business media and legal publications are rife with stories about the latest pay increases for first-year law firm associates to an astounding $160,000. These substantial, increased costs will be passed on to companies and ultimately to consumers, but so far the corporate world has been silent. ACC’s Susan Hackett computes just what this first-year salary increase means in dollars (a lot) and sense (not much). And she delivers a call to arms to in-house counsel to put their firms on notice that they will not be ridiculously overcharged for legal services anymore.

Read the entire column on law.com. Susan’s column will also appear in the April issue of Corporate Counsel magazine.

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New CLO ThinkTank Reports Available

Don McCarty’s article on CLO as media spokesperson grew out of a recent CLO ThinkTank in Canada on the CLO’s Role in Government Relations and External Affairs. The Executive Reports from these sessions highlight the challenges and best practices from today’s top law department leaders. Here are the latest reports:

• Managing the Global Law Department
• CLO’s Role in Government Relations and External Affairs
• Navigating the Complexities of C-Suite Relationships
• CLO’s Role in Governance & Compliance—Canada

Participant briefing books and resource lists are now available for some ThinkTank sessions including “Compensation and Career Advancement for In-house Lawyers” and “Corporate Liability—Prosecutorial Trends & Tactics.” Visit the CLO ThinkTank page to access these invaluable resources.

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Ethics and Compliance in Europe

ACC teamed with Integrity Interactive to gather data on ethics and compliance in Europe. The survey report shows that 99 percent of European companies have in place either a code of conduct or statement of values, but only 50 percent ensure that all employees are made to read these. The two primary drivers for implementing ethics and compliance programs in Europe are pressure from the board (55%) and the company’s desire to do the right thing (50%). Meanwhile, 77 percent of European companies expect that the number and importance of ethics and compliance risk will increase in the next few years.

• See the press release highlighting key findings from the survey
• Request a copy of the survey

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Invest in Your Legal Department

As the chief legal officer for your company, you likely have attorneys and other non-lawyer staff reporting to you who are in need of focused in-house training. If so, sign them up for ACC's Corporate Counsel University (April 29 – May 1, Hyatt Regency, St. Louis, MO), which has become the gold standard for attorneys who are new to in-house, or who would like to sharpen their management and in-house practice skills. Like all ACC programs, Corporate Counsel University will emphasize practical tips and hands-on advice, with plenty of opportunities to interact with faculty and other attendees. Sessions include: Building Better Negotiation Skills and Creating a Business/Legal Partnership with Your Clients. The schedule includes plenty of networking time to meet and talk with other members, so your team can establish contacts to call upon long after the meeting.

By popular demand, we have expanded our educational content by offering programming developed by in-house paralegals for in-house paralegals where they will have the opportunity to build networks and obtain valuable tools! Restrictions do apply. Registration is just $700 for in-house counsel and $650 for paralegals. Get more information and register now. Questions? Contact the education team at education@acc.com or 202.293.4103, x451.

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