Many debates take place about the general counsel’s involvement in a company, and impact considerations for a general counsel search. A general counsel offers advice to the company’s CEO and helps guide the company’s decision-making process to ensure lawful transactions. His or her recommendations should always comply with the company’s vision and goals. Therefore, the general counsel should have a thorough understanding of the company. Attending board meetings facilitates this understanding and allows them to offer immediate assistance.
Candidates for a general counsel should be individuals with outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, a sharp business mind, and broad legal expertise. As the legal “door stop” to a company, possessing a wide breadth of legal expertise is essential to any successful general counsel candidate. This is the reason why most companies and recruitment firms tend to focus on attorneys with at least ten years of experience who have had the opportunity to develop a fairly general practice.
Performing a general counsel search is of critical importance and should take much consideration. Besides possessing the aforementioned skills, the general counsel should also possess good chemistry with upper management and board members. This factor is crucial in allowing him or her to become a facilitator in any process. He or she should be assertive enough to inform and guide, yet humble enough to do so without causing any confrontation. This is one of the reasons the CEO should play an important role in performing this selection.
Search firms facilitate the general counsel search by finding candidates that possess the main skills needed for the position. The company can then concentrate on selecting the candidate that best fits the internal culture.
Written on: 02/23/11 PDF Version