Strategic Planning AGENDA Introductions What is Strategic Planning? Building a Strategic Plan Large Legal departments Small Legal departments Building agility into a strategic plan Executing your strategic plan People, Process, Technology & Data Partnerships, Trade-offs & De-Railers Lessons Learned 2 Introductions 3 Strategic Planning What is it? 4 Building a strategic plan for a large law department 5 Alignment with overall business objectives Efficient, effective allocation of internal resources Inclusion and leveraging of outside counsel 6 Strategic Plan Goals Alignment with Business Gain clarity of business goals & objectives Meet with business counterparts Seek involvement in business planning process Early opportunity to influence / assess leadership in new markets Ensure coordination within department Departmental strategic objectives aligned with new corporate strategy Communicate within department; communicate with internal clients By practice groups, by geography, by role, etc. Early feedback loop 7 Effective, Efficient Allocation of Internal Resources Map existing staffing and resources to planned business Gap review, SWOT analysis Transparent, inclusive assessment during budget development process Optimize organizational structure Defined roles and responsibilities Growth opportunities (new roles, ex-pat postings, etc.) Determine appropriate measurements of results 8 Inclusion & Leverage of Outside Counsel Evaluate capabilities of existing and prospective new firms Questionnaires, interviews, references Establish network of firms in new geographies Determine role of outside counsel in each market Leverage knowledge and experience of firms to gain local cultural and business intelligence Internal seminars, primers, introductions, etc. 9 Strategic planning in a small enterprise 10 11 Internal Resources Senior Management Internal Clients Legal StaffDelegates Cross- Functional Teams IT Functional Peer Group Employees 12 Data Sets FinanceHR Corp Secretary Outside Counsel Matter Management Software Helpline Third Party Legal Industry Peers 13 Outside Counsel Legal ServicesCLETrainingSecondmentBenchmarkingReferralsAuditPolicy Planning while the mother ship is moving strategic planning in a newly constituted entity 14 Overall Objective: Alignment with the new business operating model 15 STAGE 1 FAMILIARIZATION: DISCOVERY PHASE 16 Methods Meet & greets Surveys External research of similar models 17 Outcomes Clear picture of business unit objectives Initial identification of risk areas and pain points Establishing relationships 18 STAGE 2 CONNECTION: CONSTRUCTION PHASE 19 Tactics and Techniques Calendaring time Social calls Invites to team/unit mtgs 20 Results Business intelligence Emotional intelligence Informed SWOT analysis of team capabilities 21 SWOT STAGE 3 INTEGRATION: IMPLEMENTATION PHASE 22 Operations and Strategies Structure, produce and provide targeted client training and education Move individual members of team, and team as a whole, to highest and best use Develop and monitor metrics for key performance indicators 23 Yield Visibility to, and integration with, core business functions Risk aware business decisions Partner status 24 How does the GC ensure successful strategy? The role of people, process, technology and data 25 Planning is Not Execution What are they and how does one watch out for them? 26 Potential Strategic De-railers Flexing the plan when stuff happens 27 Being Nimble QUESTIONS? 28 REFERENCE 29 Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning Model (Sample) C o n t r a c t & M a t t e r M a n a g e m e n t Risk Mitigation & Claim Resolution R e g u l a t o r y & C o m p l i a n c e Legal Risk Management T R A I N I N G C O U N S E L I N G Employee Conduct Regulatory Compliance Standard Agreements/Clauses IP Assertion/Defense Proactive Risk Mitigation Reorganization Policies/Procedures Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Reorganization Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker 20__ Strategic Plan (Sample) Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker MVP Award Minimum 500 hours billed in calendar year Minimum five timekeepers (attorneys/paralegals) active in calendar year Minimum five active matters during calendar year Engagement letters for all active matters during year Award winner from previous year is not eligible Eligibility for Award Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker MVP Award Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department Definitions Tactical Work: Daily work required to conduct the business of the legal department; often occurs at the expense of Strategic Planning if time is not set aside for the latter Strategic Planning: Long-term goal setting, often requiring multi-phase approach and resource approval/allocation Heico Privately held holding company of more than 50 portfolio companies Legal as a corporate function was established in 2011; I am first GC Legal department = 4 senior lawyers; 1 junior lawyer; 1 senior paralegal; 1 asst Highly leveraged; ~10 core firms do ~80% of our legal work Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department, Cont Setting the Groundwork for the Strategic Plan Understand the constraints of a small organization (i.e., be realistic) Board/Leadership Supportdo you have a mandate? Staffing (will determine degree you rely on outside counsel/vendors) $$ Externalities (e.g., long-lasting outside counsel relationships) Role of former GC, if any Policies/procedures, if any Culture o Lawyer as facilitator vs. lawyer as obstacle o Appetite of organization for counseling/training (vs. putting out fires) Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department, Cont Define the Goals for Future State Solicit input/build partnerships o Tools on a budget: Corporate Exec Board has useful surveys, SurveyMonkey o No substitute for in-person interviews for middle and senior management What does the business want (vs. what do they require) o Business Goals o Legal Goals (most likely a subset of the following) Compliance (Domestic/International) Organized Labor Outside Counsel Management/Technology EPLI Claims Product Liability IP Portfolio Management Contractual Risk Enterprise Talent Management Records & Information Management (RIM) Immigration Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department, Cont Collect Data on the Current State Where no method to collect the data, develop them Matter management software most critical (e.g., Serengeti) Historical budget data (via Finance?)find source of funding Trace the source of the funding (historically, who hires lawyers?) Law firms will provide detailed data with ABA task codes upon request Identify Actions to Bridge the Gap (with accompanying budget) Settle on a template to communicate Enterprise-wide application AND reflect your mission Establish a few core prioritiesdo not over-commit Check core competencies of your team vs. priorities and evolve as necessary Priorities should align not only with goals, but with mission statement (establish if necessary) Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department, Cont Measure the effectiveness of those actions Metrics o Total legal costs (including insurance proceeds, judgments, settlements, internal department administration, etc.) express in $$ and as % of revenue to reflect that youre making progress if company grows and costs are a constant o Sort for proactive vs. reactive costs (e.g., training vs. litigation) o Look for measure of engagement (vs. cost only) # calls to the Helpline each month # attendees at lunchtime brown-bag videoconferences # patents filed # audits completed # products reviewed Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department, Cont Performance Audit o Be mindful of scarce resources to perform audits o Also be mindful of scheduling overlapping audits o Good candidate for fixed fee Follow-up interviews (at least annually; more frequently at first) Hold yourself accountable for resu lts o Establish a baseline before you implement your plan o Find a forum to publish monthly metrics to senior management Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department, Cont Framework for a Successful Strategic Plan for a Small Legal Dept Buy-in on the vision from Board/Senior Leadership Messaging/Clarity Granularity Assignment of Roles/Responsibilities Outside counsel critically important for a small legal dept Visual cues/consistent framework for discussion and updates on progress Dont re-invent the wheel Plenty of established models available in the public domain Accent 1 Accent 2 Accent 3 Accent 4 Accent 6 Accent 5 Main Font: Calibri 25% Darker Strategic Planning with a Small Legal Department, Cont Regular check-ups on progress Establish groups to support regular cadence that involve non- lawyers to leverage your team Product Safety Review Boards (Engineering) IP Committees (Engineering, Finance, Sales) Ethics and Compliance Board (HR, Finance, EHS) Dont forget your outside counsel! Year-in Review with key partnersyour opportunity to share your strategic plan and their role in your success Hold outside counsel accountable MVP Award