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Recent years have seen a change in the way that in-house lawyers operate. While traditionally many identified expertise of the law and ability to give impartial advice as their core business value, that drives the organisation’s business objectives to be better recognised and valued.

Lisa Miller previously, Head of Legal & Assurance, InsureTech at Charles Taylor and now Consultant Legal Counsel at Pinsent Masons Vario, agrees with this trend. In this short video, she breaks down how in-house lawyers can be strategic leaders in their business as well as giving her insight into how to overcome the challenges around being a business leader.

How can in-house lawyers be impactful, strategic leaders in the business?

Lisa Miller begins by pointing out that “in-house leaders can be really impactful, strategic leaders in a business, but they are often overlooked and underused.” This is a business perception that needs to change.

In-house lawyers have access to, and a deep understanding of all aspects of the organisation, from dealing with corporate governance, commercial transactions, mergers & acquisitions, compliance to employee relations and customer issues. Legal counsel are able to understand how the organisation ticks and where the organisation is likely to experience the most risk.

But how can we shift the dial so that in-house lawyers are perceived by other parts of the business as strategic leaders? Our recent in-house leadership report describes how in-house lawyers can do this by focusing on scope, duration, and change:

Scope - Where a strategic in-house legal leader seeks to impact the organisational value chain beyond their own functional area, including impact on customers, suppliers or other connected stakeholders.

Duration - A strategic leader pays attention to longer-term alongside shorter-term goals.

Change - A strategic leader looks to drive organisational change in service of goals and objectives, as well as implementing that change.

Intentionally influencing people and resources both inside and outside the in-house legal function will create the right direction, alignment and commitment to support the business’ long-term value-generating activities.

Opening conversations with various stakeholders puts you, as an in-house lawyer, in the best position to make strategic business decisions, as you will be able “to predict how strategic decisions will affect the organisation” including the supply chain and the customer base.

To support your development and thinking around effective leadership, check out our Guide to Leadership for In-House Counsel. It looks at a number of practicalities around leadership development, focusing on problems and opportunities faced by in-house counsel, such as understanding where to add value as a business partner. The guide is part of our dedicated subtopic on Management & Leadership within ������Ƶ In-House Advisor.

How can you overcome the challenges around being a leader?

One of the biggest challenges Lisa Miller describes are the “structural limitations and structural barriers” that exist within an organisation. In many ways, leaders such as “department heads and the team leaders,” who actually influence change and oversee how the business operates, can get overlooked.

Changing systematic structures and hierarchies is not a quick and simple process. We have pulled together some of the most popular resources and practice notes amongst other in-house lawyers to help you.

Popular strategic leadership resources amongst in-house leaders:

• A guide to leadership for in-house counsel—Part 1: Different approaches to leadership
• Becoming a strategic in-house legal leader
• Rethinking the art of effective leadership for in-house lawyers
• Support for in-house counsel, legal team managers and leaders with personal, business, management and leadership skills development.
• How General Counsel can overcome leadership challenges in the workplace
• The strategic leadership skills all legal counsel need

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