EuropeanGC.com subscribers can download free these must-read reports for GC and those who advise them


   Is the legal function digitally blind in your company?
 
Then read Information Governance For Lawyers, a 48 page report published by EuropeanGC.com in April 2011 for in-house legal departments in Europe. We believe Information Governance For Lawyers will drive the risk agenda in most major companies this decade. Therefore a new educational process is urgently needed to help change the in-house legal mind-set on the intertwined disciplines of information governance and risk management. This report is an introduction to that process by balancing independent editorial with thought-provoking articles from experienced general counsel (BG Group, Novartis, ISS, TomTom) and solution providers (Dolphin Software, H7b1, Legal Solutions Group, Mitratech). Download this report on the home page.  

   How legal departments can prosper by generating revenue  

Our first general counsel-empowering report was The Profitable Legal Department. This 36 page 'how to' guide was published in November 2010 and sponsored by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. It showed how legal departments can cease to be viewed purely as a cost centre in the company by proactively generating (or recovering) revenue - and may even become a profit centre. Based on exclusive insight and data provided by the DuPont in-house legal team who pioneered this program, we proved that with the correct organisation, motivation, and a willingness to seek money rightfully due to corporations via infringements, literally millions of dollars could be recovered for the benefit of shareholders and the company. Download this report on the home page.

   How Russian legal departments managed the economic crisis
 
How in-house counsel in Russia are managing their legal departments is a 32 page report and the first to investigate how legal departments in a major emerging market were dealing with the global economic crisis. The research was conducted in 2009 by Jeffrey Forbes of the Forbes Institute and published in March 2010 by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. It contains expert analysis and commentary based on data arranged in 23 tables covering areas such as: Budget reduction; Managing legal staff; Increasing productivity; Aligning the legal department; Reducing external legal costs; Communicating risk; and Recommendations for law firms. It also confirmed that fixed fees were the new norm for legal budgets. Download this report in the 2010 Archive section.  

   How in-house counsel in CEE select and retain external lawyers  

How in-house counsel in Central & Eastern Europe select and retain their external counsel is a 40 page report and the first to shed light on the market for high value legal services in this part of Europe. The research was conducted in 2008 by Jeffrey Forbes of the Forbes Institute and published in February 2009 by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. It contains expert analysis and commentary based on data arranged in 30 tables covering areas such as: Departmental structure; Selecting external counsel; Retaining external counsel; Client service; Market information; and Recommendations for law firm marketers. It also was the first to expose the disconnect and lack of client service programs by foreign and domestic law firms. Download this report in the 2009 Archive section.