Smart Collaboration for In-house Legal Teams

Gardner’s new book Smart Collaboration for In-house Legal Teams is a must-read for any in-house lawyer who wants to become an effective business thought partner and claim a seat at the table in strategic discussions. Through extensive research and analysis, Gardner turns a complicated subject into simple guidance on how to overcome typical barriers to collaboration in global organizations and achieve real and long-lasting results.

• Figures Tables I. Introduction 1. The four vectors 1.1 Across disciplines within the legal group 1.2 With the business, including front-line managers, executives and governing boards 1.3 Between the legal team and other corporate functions 1.4 With external parties beyond the organisation 2. Research methodology, confidentiality and terminology 3. In this Special Report II. The case for collaboration 1. Benefits of in-house legal teams’ collaboration across all four vectors 1.1 Higher-quality, lower-risk solutions 1.2 Innovative outcomes 1.3 Operational efficiency 1.4 Attract, engage and retain talent 1.5 Diversity and inclusion 1.6 Individual benefits: networking, recognition, legacyIII. Real and perceived obstacles to collaboration 1. Barriers 1.1 Time pressures and the drive for efficiency (27%) 1.2 Interpersonal distrust and territoriality (22%) 1.3 Knowledge gap about your legal, business and functional colleagues’ expertise (17%) 1.4 Lack of skills and confidence to initiate and carry out collaboration (15%) 1.5 An unsupportive culture (11%) 1.6 Lack of trust in others’ competence (8%)2. Closing thoughts on barriers IV. Building collaboration within the in-house legal team1. From vision to strategy 2. Hiring collaborative talent 3. External hires – the three stages3.1 Preparing to hire 3.2 Recruiting collaborators 3.3 Integrating those new hires 4. Collaborating across geographical divides 5. Building leadership skills 5.1 Tie actions and directives to the larger vision 5.2 Create an open, learning-centric environment 5.3 Build your team’s future-ready competencies 5.4 Create exposure opportunities for others 5.5 Offer timely ‘suggestions’ (instead of anxiety-producing feedback)5.6 Celebrate success 6. Making time for collaboration 7. Closing thoughts on collaboration within the team V. Smart collaboration with business executives 1. Earn a seat at the strategy table 1.1 Be more than just a lawyer 1.2 Develop and share future-focused insights2. Claim your seat at the strategy table and use it effectively 2.1 Overcoming imposter syndrome 2.2 Building and using authentic gravitas 2.3 Help shape the style and tone of interactions across the executive team 3. Build two kinds of trust 3.1 Building interpersonal trust 3.2 Building competence trust 3.3 Climbing the Trust Staircase 4. Concluding thoughts: collaborate by building relationships VI. Smart collaboration between Legal and other corporate functions 1. Proactively build relationships – while the pressure is lower 2. Paths to building cross-functional relationships 2.1 Formal relationship-building 2.2 Informal relationship-building 3. Explore others’ perspectives 4. Building the bridge 4.1 Spend time consciously focused on the other person’s (or group’s) agenda 4.2 Develop and demonstrate genuine curiosity4.3 Probe the politics (sensitively) 5. Lead collaborative efforts for higher performance 5.1 Employ disciplined project management to maximise use of time and other resources 5.2 Distinguish between task conflicts and relationship conflicts5.3 Use your influencing skills rather than your authority 6. From responder to thought partner VII. Smart collaboration with external stakeholders1. Degree of joint experience 1.1 Mature, deep (stakes: high; innovation need: high)1.2 Familiar (stakes: low; innovation need: low) 1.3 New (stakes: low; innovation need: high) 1.4 Strong (stakes: high; innovation need: low) 2. Collaborating with outside counsel, including law firms and ALSPs3. Collaborating with regulators 3.1 Establish trust and credibility with regulators through upstanding conduct and an effective compliance regime 3.2 Help shape the regulatory environment 3.3 Proactively participate in voluntary regulatory framework discussions4. Collaborating with legal team counterparts in other organisations 5. Closing thoughts: collaborating outside the company VIII.Smart collaboration: the ongoing opportunity 1. The ‘dark side’ of collaboration: an over-committed organisation 1.1 The Four Ms 2. Final thoughts NotesAbout the authorAbout Globe Law and Business FiguresFigure 1. Four vectors of collaboration for in-house legal teams Figure 2. Benefits of cross-domain collaboration Figure 3. Business outcomes of employee engagement Figure 4. Collaboration and performance – added value from smart collaboration Figure 5. The reinforcing cycle of collaboration benefits Figure 6. Barriers to collaboration for in-house legal teams Figure 7. Collaboration and external hires – two paths Figure 8. Three-stage process for external hiring Figure 9. Multi-tiered benefits of role-based competency grids Figure 10. Preference gap between giving and receiving feedback Figure 11. Leader’s reaction to subordinate’s good news Figure 12. How CEOs view Legal: cost vs value-add Figure 13. The Trust Staircase Figure 14. From responder to thought partner Figure 15. Avoiding the performance pressure trap degree of prior joint experience Figure 17. The danger zone Figure 18. Measure it: collaboration across many teamsTablesTable 1. Paths to cross-functional relationships Table 2. Signs of excellent and deficient collaboration within outside firms