Paul Hastings roundtable: Navigating new paths to growth

In the summer, against the backdrop of the pandemic and lockdown, Paul Hastings and The Lawyer launched a survey seeking to determine what the future of the in-house legal function will look like. 

More than 120 survey responses were collected and analysed. Respondents included general counsel, heads of legal and chief legal officers from businesses throughout the UK. Interviews were also conducted with GC at some of the UK’s biggest organisations, including BT, Barclays, GSK, Vodafone and more.  

The research looks at the immediate impacts of the pandemic, how legal had a pivotal role in navigating the crisis, and what impact this had on those legal teams themselves. 

Broader themes include the relationship between legal leaders and business executives, technology’s impact on both in-house teams and businesses in general, preparing for sustained levels of remote working, and increasing diversity within the legal function. 

By looking at in-house legal through the lens of both its response to the pandemic and the broader trends affecting the profession, the analysis seeks to outline what the future of work looks like, and how to get your team prepared for a post-pandemic future. 

Suzanne Horne, London office vice chair and head of the international employment practice at Paul Hastings, says: “For some time now we have been examining with our clients what the future of work looks like. That future, in some respects, has now arrived. Therefore, we’re taking the temperature of the in-house legal function to work out how the crisis has impacted them and what the year ahead is likely to have in store.”

Below are just some of the findings from the full report.

Business strategy and changing involvement

The survey asked respondents to state what impact the pandemic has had on business strategy in both the short and long term, and what this means for the evolution of the in-house legal function. 

The research shows that the direct impact of the virus on business strategy was either a significant change or an acceleration of existing plans. Some 42 per cent of respondents stated that their business had to accelerate plans that were already in place, 12 per cent indicated that they have had to entirely rethink their business strategy, while a further 12 per cent indicated that their strategy is now geared towards keeping the business alive.

The legal function has, broadly, been heavily involved in these changes: 71 per cent of survey respondents felt they saw greater involvement in business strategy during the short-term response to the pandemic. A further 54 per cent feel that they will continue to see greater involvement in the long term.

This is good news for some legal heads, who used the free text areas of the survey to express their desire for more influence at board level in the long term. Alexis Alexander, general counsel at Liberis, said: “GCs need to be true business partners and part of the initial strategic decision-making stage – not just an afterthought to execute or indeed to pick up the pieces.”

Tech’s impact on in-house

Technology was an essential part of keeping business moving throughout the lockdown period. For many, long-term plans for tech implementation were brought forward, and are here to stay. 

When asked what impact the pandemic had on their organisation’s approach to AI, 61 per cent indicated that it had either accelerated plans or made some impact. Only 4 per cent believe that the pandemic has delayed AI/automation-related projects.

With regards to technology’s impact on in-house lawyers specifically, more than three-quarters of survey respondents indicated that the implementation of technology will be important in preparing their in-house team for the future of work. 

One specific factor flagged by our respondents was a potential for technology to take up many of the more laborious, tedious and time-consuming roles of the in-house lawyer, such as document creation, checking and filing. By doing so, lawyers would have more time to work as lawyers, focus on client relationships, and generally upskill.

Philip Aiken, managing director at Barclays, elaborated on this: “If organisations can implement technology which allows automation of basic tasks, this will allow in-house teams to concentrate on higher-value work.  This may result in the profile of in-house teams becoming ever more senior.”

The future of work, therefore, may be underpinned by an in-house legal function with an increasingly senior skillset. 

Building relationships remotely, the gender angle

One of the long-lasting results of lockdown has been a widespread appreciation of the benefits of working from home. Office life has fundamentally changed, and while some businesses will return to the office in some shape or form, those of us spending a full five days a week in the office will be few and far between going forward. 

The transition out of lockdown into a part working from home, part office-based environment is going to be an incredible real-life experiment in the evolution of the modern workplace, balancing issues such as learning and development, employee well-being and the basic need for human and social interaction, with a particular focus on how to maintain and build professional relationships and collaborate when not physically face to face. 

Our survey asked what impact a shift to remote working would have on the relationship between the respondent and their organisation’s board or leadership team. More than half (53 per cent) believe that it will be more challenging to build trusted relationships in this ‘new normal’. Meanwhile, 47 per cent believe it will be harder to understand the dynamics and concerns of board members or leaders, 37 per cent that it will be harder to keep informed of all decisions, and 12 per cent believe it will be harder to get their voice heard at board meetings.

When looking at responses by gender, men are 8 per cent more likely to find it more challenging to build trusted relationships at board level, and 7 per cent more likely to find it harder to understand the dynamics. 

Interestingly, there is a sharp difference between men and women when it comes to concerns around getting their voice heard at board meetings. Just 1 per cent of men listed this as a concern, while 16 per cent of women did so. Many news organisations, including the New York Times, have run stories during lockdown commenting on the feeling among many female professionals that they have been ‘drowned out’ in virtual meetings. 

Suzanne Horne of Paul Hastings concludes “The future of work is upon us and in-house has the opportunity now to influence what it looks like for them. What practices implemented during the pandemic can be refined and retained? What outdated norms can we leave behind, and what new approaches to teaming, lawyering and business partnering are on our wish list? This is a genuine opportunity to reimagine and reshape.”