Features

The ability to effectively communicate is of the utmost importance, especially for in-house counsel as they face the challenge of relaying complex legal advice to colleagues coming from various scholarships. In-house counsel must be reflexive and ask not only, “Is my message getting across?”, but also, “Is my communication creating a positive impact?”

With the news cycle being faster than ever before, and serious new issues seeming to arise every few weeks, it can be hard to stay up to date, let alone digest the implications they may have on future operations and decision making. How can in-house counsel keep on top of it all?

National average base salary has increased significantly, gender wage gap has widened, equal pay for racialized and disabled lawyers is still a challenge, and work-life balance satisfaction decreased during the pandemic.

Communicating effectively is half the challenge when working in-house. The shorter, the better in most cases, but there are other issues you might want to consider. While normal course in private practice may be to send a thorough PDF memo on the law, this might not be the best way to get your message across in an organization.

Practising law is the business of law firms; in-house practice and legal departments are just part of a business that has many other priorities. Legal group budgeting, financial systems, hiring, firing, promoting, contract management, records keeping, and IT have to integrate with everything else. General Counsel is just one member of an executive team. The Legal Department (“Legal”) is just a small — but important — part of something much bigger.

The Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee and the CCCA prepared answers to 22 frequently asked questions about solicitor-client privilege and client confidentiality especially for in-house counsel. Please refer to the rules of your governing body for the detailed rules in your jurisdiction.

Congratulations to the summer 2021 Business Leadership Program for In-House Counsel graduating class.

Tax law is a strange and mysterious world for many people, even most lawyers. The law is constantly changing, the concepts are challenging and the results are often counter-intuitive, making it a source of frustration for those forced to deal with it. To help businesses and their legal groups can get the most out of their tax advisors (internal and external) in a productive and cost-efficient way, here is a series of three articles on best practices.

Tax law is a strange and mysterious world for many people, even most lawyers. The law is constantly changing, the concepts are challenging and the results are often counter-intuitive, making it a source of frustration for those forced to deal with it. To help businesses and their legal groups can get the most out of their tax advisors (internal and external) in a productive and cost-efficient way, here is a series of three articles on best practices.

Tax law is a strange and mysterious world for many people, even most lawyers. The law is constantly changing, the concepts are challenging and the results are often counter-intuitive, making it a source of frustration for those forced to deal with it. To help businesses and their legal groups can get the most out of their tax advisors (internal and external) in a productive and cost-efficient way, here is a series of three articles on best practices.