The Antidote to Devil’s Snare: Reflections of a First GC

  • September 13, 2019
  • Tamiko Ohta

The Antidote to Devil’s Snare: Reflections of a First GC

In 2018, this column featured two in-house counsel who eloquently addressed the value of change and strategies to help your organization thrive. I was asked to pen the acoustic version of change, specifically, at the management level as a company’s first General Counsel.

When I was hired as the first GC at my company, I happily completed my 90-day assessment plan, drafted Legal’s mission and vision statements, and ensured executive alignment on the lot. As the days turned into months, I had a steady stream of visitors come through my door with requests for legal services, projects to mitigate risk and opportunities to enhance decision making. Mission accomplished, pat yourself on the back, right? Not quite.

Fans of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series will remember that in the first book, Harry, Hermione and Ron find themselves trapped in a tentacle-like plant called a Devil’s Snare. The young wizards soon realize the harder they struggle, the more the plant constricts.

At my three-month milestone, I had the epiphany that my attempts to tackle a carefully crafted priority list and “prove” the value of the nascent legal function had inadvertently created a conceptual Devil’s Snare. The harder I worked, the more I uncovered projects to be done, and the more people I engaged, the more my services became in demand.

So what is the antidote to this conundrum? How does a “first” without a team survive? I offer the following recommendations:

  1. Relax the mental lists. In Harry Potter, it is Hermione who remembers to relax, thus freeing herself from the constricting tendrils of the plant and solving the puzzle. When setting up legal frameworks, realize there is value in the prioritization process but none in steadfastly sticking to the original plan. I now have more nuanced and flexible objectives, and can elaborate what is “urgent but not important” versus “important but not urgent.”
  1. Stay humble. As a first, you are often working with people who have never directly interacted with a lawyer. Earn their respect through your actions and the quality of your services. Ask, rather than tell, your new colleagues what level of service Legal can provide on a matter, and don’t be afraid to say you need more time before you offer your assessment.
  1. Go beyond onboarding. In my view, what sets you apart as a first is how curious you are about your company’s business. I had a comprehensive onboarding process but that was only the start of my journey. This year I’ve committed to reviewing our 3000+ products with our developers.
  1. Connect resources and create communities. The true resources are the people around you. Find the colleagues who know “why” things are done the way they are done. Make an effort to go to the social events surrounding CCCA conferences instead of running back to check emails. Ask colleagues to introduce you to other in-house counsel who share your geography or industry. The legal community here in London, Ontario, has welcomed me with enthusiasm. I consider their support a key to my success.
  1. Legal concepts are transferable too. If you are overwhelmed by the scope of responsibility as a first, remember the legal strategies and principles you’ve been honing throughout your career are transferrable. That “spirit and intent” debate you had when updating the executive compensation disclosure? It can help you think through the ambiguity of a compliance standard. That localization strategy you created on the subsidiary cash unit plan? It can work in customizing a sales agreement for international markets.
  1. Translate personal strengths into services. I am at my best when practicing advocacy through influence, and I love to share by telling stories. I translated these concepts into a quarterly legal newsletter for the senior management team, which I use to educate them on upcoming legal developments. The “stories” are the case law facts, which reinforce how legal concepts apply internally.

Last quarter, I had an executive refer to a process “pre-TO” (pre-Tamiko Ohta). Is the Devil’s Snare in retreat? Perhaps. But I continue to keep my wand and spell book nearby just in case…

Tamiko Ohta is the first GC of StarTech.com Ltd., a private company based in London, ON, that creates, distributes and sells a wide portfolio of IT accessories. Previously, she spent 14 years in-house at an upstream oil and gas company, last serving as Vice-President Legal and Corporate Secretary. Reach her at tamiko.ohta@startech.com.