Dentons In-House Solutions

Creating and demonstrating value as a compliance function

Dentons — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 09:25:00 -0400

Regardless of where your compliance function sits, whether it’s within legal or is a standalone team, there is a familiar pressure to create and demonstrate value. The perception of being a roadblock is possible when there isn’t a strong partnership with the business, or when compliance is not part of every strategic conversation. In this podcast, we tune into the hands-on experiences and perspectives of two former in-house counsel and now members of Dentons Global Compliance and Investigations team, Zaeem Soofie and Anthony Moscato. Zaeem and Anthony dive into some of the essential characteristics of a best-in-class compliance program, highlight the practical things you can do to create and demonstrate value, and discuss some of the ways you can ease the tension that sometimes surfaces between the compliance function and the broader business.

Become a productivity pro

Dentons — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 10:13:00 -0400

Burnout in the legal profession is on the rise and while stressful workloads and time pressures are likely to blame, it does make you wonder whether we can do more to control how we spend our time, and that of our teams’. Are we effectively and efficiently managing our time and, our greatest resource, our attention? In this podcast discussion, we connected with Dentons colleagues, Rita Simões-Muir, Senior Talent Development Advisor and Claire McMillan, Talent Development Manager and explored ways for us to think a little differently about the concept of time management along with ideas to maximize our own productivity.

The GC’s role during times of uncertainty

Dentons — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:13:00 -0400

As the GC of a company with an international footprint or interconnected supply chain, how are you planning for the unknown during a time of evolving and complex geopolitical risks? In this podcast, we connect with Pierre Parvine, Partner and Co-head of Europe Industrials Sector at Dentons and John Hughes, Partner and Head of Client Strategy at DGA Group to discuss the many ways that the General Counsel can find opportunity during a time of disruption.

For more details on the Market Disruption Readiness offering discussed in this podcast, download our brochure.

Building a high-performing legal team

Dentons — Mon, 27 May 2024 13:14:00 -0400

Building a high-performing legal team can become a competitive advantage for your organization. While having the right mix of skills is clearly part of the equation, studies show that you can drive innovation and collaboration to new levels by building an inclusive environment where everyone on the team feels that they have a voice, can share their ideas without fear of consequences and can bring their authentic selves to work. In this podcast, we connect with our Dentons colleagues, Kate Broer, Global Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Officer and Magda Kalus, Global Talent Director, as we dive into how diversity is a performance and innovation driver, strategies to drive inclusion across your team and the power of human-centric leadership behaviors.

Efficient engagement of outside counsel with scoping and communication strategies

Dentons — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Dentons latest global in-house legal insights survey, we explored a number of themes

including what legal teams from around the world are doing to achieve greater

operational efficiency within their department. While assessing and optimizing

workloads and exploring how to leverage automation for routine or administrative

tasks are high on the list, so is ensuring the efficient engagement of outside

counsel. In our latest podcast, we connect with James Arnold, Head of Legal

Project Management for Dentons in the UK, Ireland and Middle East, and dive

into effective scoping and communication strategies to optimize your external

counsel engagement.

Have you done your CLM homework?

Dentons — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 11:06:00 -0400

Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) technology has received a lot of attention in the past few years and, with its focus on solving a major pain point for the law department and business, it’s not a surprise. But before you consider investing in any CLM technology, there is a bit of homework that needs to be done first. In this podcast, we chat with Lucy Bassli, author of “CLM simplified” and founder of Innolaw Group - a CLM consultancy and preferred partner to Dentons In-House Solutions – as she provides a few top tips for those looking to embark on optimizing their contracting function.

Maximizing External Legal Service Provider Value

Dentons — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 09:02:00 -0400

With a possible recession on the horizon, organizations around the world will be turning to their playbooks and refining their focus to be sure they come through the other side stronger than before. The law department cannot be an outlier in this effort. In anticipation of requests to reduce your budget, now is a good time to consider conducting a review of the law firms and other external providers you use to understand not only what can be done to achieve greater value but where you can achieve greater cost savings from those relationships.

In this podcast, we connect with Katie Windmoeller, Dentons Senior Manager of Proposals, and Matthew Prinn, Principal of RFP Advisory Group, who share deep experience in the RFP, pricing and procurement space, as they offer some tips and best practices to those looking to conduct a convergence program.

To learn more about how Dentons In-House Solutions can help you through this process, connect with our podcast host, JoAnne Wakeford.

Talent engagement strategies for 2022 and beyond

Dentons — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 14:50:00 -0400

There’s no question that the past two years have been exhausting for us all, with law departments around the world really feeling the pressure. Workloads have increased and, for many, budgets have decreased and with COVID continuing to squeeze both personal and professional obligations, many are rethinking career goals and re-evaluating the meaning of work satisfaction. In this podcast, we connect with Kyla Sandwith, a fellow legal operations consultant and founder of De Novo, Inc who has a particular expertise in team engagement and talent development. Kyla shares her perspectives on how to spot an engagement issue, and how to address those challenges and keep people motivated – even in the absence of any formal authority.

The New Dynamic – Perspectives from South Korea with Michael Paik

Dentons — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 20:24:00 -0400

As law department leaders around the world assess how their organizations and law departments will not only recover, but thrive, in the rapidly evolving environment of this pandemic, looking at how others who were on the front line earlier in reopening their economies and offices can help prepare you as we enter this New Dynamic. In this episode, we connect with Michael Paik, Executive Vice President, Legal Trade and Risk Management at SeAH Holdings Corp, a global steel manufacturer, based in South Korea as he shares the lessons they learned as a law department continuing to effectively support their business through this constant state of accelerating change.

Communicating with compassion, authenticity, and vision – with Nathan Miller

Dentons — Fri, 15 May 2020 19:33:00 -0400

Even as many regions around the world begin to loosen restrictions and consider their plans for reopening, the crisis remains and communication will remain paramount in importance. While the cadence and content may evolve, there are several key principles that will have continuing relevance as you communicate with your legal department, your business clients and other stakeholders. In this podcast, we connect with Nathan Miller, CEO of Miller Ink, who has guided numerous clients seeking to reorient their communication strategies, as he shares his three key principles for communication during a crisis.

Quick tips on legal ops today with Lucy Bassli: Force Majeure contract review

Dentons — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 23:38:00 -0400

In today’s current environment, in-house teams are quickly focusing on reviewing their contracts for the force majeure provision – but for some that may mean balancing the sheer volume of inquiries from the business, while trying to get their arms around those contracts (where are they, how many, with whom). In this episode, we connect again with Lucy Bassli, who provides a few quick tips that corporate counsel can explore today to gain some control over the process.

Quick Tips on Legal Ops Today with Lucy Bassli

Dentons — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 00:50:00 -0400

In these incredibly challenging times, priorities are shifting rapidly and the processes with which we were all accustomed to are being tested daily. Over the course of the next several weeks, we will focus our discussions on providing practical operational tips, give you the confidence that your legal team is supported, prepared and working as efficiently and effectively as possible. In this episode, we connect with Lucy Bassli, formerly AGC, Legal Operations and Contracting at Microsoft, and discuss one thing you can do today to help manage the volume of requests coming in from the business.

Transforming Your Law Department with Design Thinking – An Interview with Jeffrey Marple

Dentons — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 14:29:00 -0400

Design thinking is becoming increasingly relevant in the legal industry and is being applied to how we practice law and deliver legal services. It is even being taught in law schools and universities around the world. In this episode, we connect with Jeffrey Marple, Director of Innovation for the Legal Group at Liberty Mutual Insurance as he shares how his legal team is using Design thinking to accelerate the transformation of their legal department.

The Past, Present and Future of Legal Ops with Lucy Bassli

Nextlaw — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 17:46:00 -0400

With the 2019 CLOC Institute event in the rear-view mirror, we connect with Lucy Bassli, Deputy General Counsel of Legal Operations at Snowflake Computing and also Founder and Principal of Innolegal Services, to discuss the rise and relevance of legal operations from both an in-house and outside counsel perspective. Spoiler alert: We all need to stop using the expression “non-lawyer”!

You said what!? Keeping Calm in a PR Crisis…

Nextlaw — Thu, 30 May 2019 13:00:00 -0400

How prepared is your organization for what some refer to as the “inevitable PR blowout”? In this episode we connect with Nathan Miller, Founder and President of Miller Ink, a member of the Nextlaw Public Affairs Network, as he shares his insights on how to keep calm and carry on in a public relations crisis.

Tracking and Triaging Workflow

Nextlaw — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 20:02:00 -0400

We often hear from GCs leading small law departments that one of their greatest challenges is simply staying on top of the requests from the business. In this episode, we connect with Peter Nguyen, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Privacy Officer at Resolver as he explains how he and his team have designed a workflow solution to track and triage the requests from the business while, at the same time, removing the “black box” around their value and contributions.

Running a Law Department Like a Business

Nextlaw — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 18:28:00 -0400

Many law department leaders today are focused on repositioning their group from simply a provider of legal services and a cost center to a business enabler. One team in particular is on the leading edge of this approach. In this episode, we speak with Richard Stewart, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer for the Office of the General Counsel at BMO Financial Group as he shares his insights and perspectives on running a law department like a business.

Law Firm Performance Management

Nextlaw — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0400

Law firm performance management has an increasingly important role to play in demonstrating law department value. James Beckett, CEO of Qualmet, was recently recognized as a Legal Rebel by the ABA Journal and shares with us his insights on how to drive greater performance from your law firms.

Building Your Pro-Bono Program

Nextlaw — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 00:00:00 -0400

There is a significant justice gap between those who can afford access to legal services and those who need it and the legal industry is perfectly poised to fill this gap. Felicity Conrad, CEO of Paladin, highlights some of the key components to a successful in-house pro-bono program

The first 100 Days

Nextlaw — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 00:00:00 -0400

We have all been ‘new’ in organizations at one time or another. We know how important those first 100 days are and David Allgood, former EVP and General Counsel of the Royal Bank of Canada and the first Canadian Chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel walks us through his top tips for new GCs