Australian Corporate Lawyer - Autumn 2017

theAustraliancorporatelawyer
ACC GLOBAL UPDATE
ACC Releases Chief Legal Officers
2017 Survey
Released in January 2017, the Association of
Corporate Counsel (ACC) Chief Legal Officers
2017 Survey reported that one-in-three CLOs
and GCs claim their companies adjusted plans
to enter new markets following geopolitical
events in the last year. Nearly half suggested
they plan to terminate a law firm for
underperformance in the year ahead.
The CLO 2017 Survey included data and
insights from nearly 1,100 GCs and CLOs in
42 countries and indicated that the inhouse
community and the businesses they
represent faced questions about market plans,
employee safety, and product lines following
geopolitical changes and instability in 2016.
The expected influence on government
policies ensured that ethics, compliance and
regulatory changes remained the leading
issues facing CLO’s. In light of world events
where conflict or terrorism threatened to harm
employees, 44% of CLOs nominated employer
duty of care and workplace safety as a top
concern. GCs in Australia and the Asia Pacific
region were most likely to rate duty of care an
“extremely” important issue.
In addition to external changes affecting
business and the legal department, CLOs also
made significant changes in their selection
and hiring of outside counsel. Nearly one-inthree
GCs said they fired an underperforming
law firm in the past year, and 46% say they will
“definitely” or “may” replace a law firm in 2017.
CLOs who said they fired a law firm in the past
year were significantly more likely than others
to plan increases to their internal budgets and
use of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) into
2017. Among those law departments firing
their firms, two-thirds of CLOs said they are
considering replacing a firm this year which
suggests departments are changing firms
rather than reducing their outside law partners.
To learn more about the CLO Survey,
visit www.acc.com/closurvey.
40 VOLUME 27, ISSUE 1 – AUTUMN 2017