How Legal Risk Management may fill the communication gap between lawyers and business people, for the best benefit of the Company.

1. Lawyers are from Venus, businessmen are from Mars…
By Caroline Lé-Girard, LRM Consulting &
Institute
Toute reproduction et diffusion interdites

2. A relationship made of decades of misunderstandings…
… leading to a frustrating and unefficient relationship.
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3. Where lawyers have been viewed by businessmen as :
Not responsive
Not « business oriented »
Too theorical
Deal breakers
Litigation managers
Contract writers
No risk takers
Cost centers
Toute reproduction et diffusion interdites

4. Whereas businessmen have been viewed by lawyers as :
Making deals without
securing contract
Focusing on pricing
issues
Ignoring anticipation
« At any price » deal
makers
Unaware of legal risks
Taking too many risks for
the sake of making a deal
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5. In summary …
Business people believe lawyers prevent them from doing business
And
Lawyers believe business people are doing business at « any risk
conditions »
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6. This may be due to their differences …
• In their respective background
engineering or business schools vs university schools of law
• In their psychological features
extravert vs introvert
• In their skills
creative vs organizing
doers vs thinkers Toute reproduction et diffusion interdites

7. This may be due to structural factors…
• The corporate culture
Latin vs as anglo-saxon
• The size of the company
Small companies vs large groups
• The sector of activity
Non regulatory vs regulatory sector
• The geographical scope
National vs international activity
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8. This may be due to human factors…
• lack of legal awareness of the CEO
 « not seen, not caught », « better to live in
illegacy than to die in legacy », « wish you
nice litigations » …
• personality of the legal director
 No vision, not shaper, not communicator,
not manager
• positioning of the legal director in the
organization chart
 Not reporting to CEO
• legal team :
Too complacent
Not pedagogic
Overloaded
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9. Still, businessmen need lawyers and lawyers need
businessmen…
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10. Businessmen need lawyers because…
• Law is pregnant in business (inflation of norms, bills, …)
• Law is more and more complex (soft law, international conventions,…)
• Law is everyone’s business (CEO, contract managers, each employee
representing the company,...)
experts in law are needed
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11. Lawyers need businessmen because…
• Businessmen are their internal customers
• To participate in the company’s value creation
• To participate in the company’s overall strategy
Internal allies are needed
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12. The company ‘s sustainability is a stake …
• The company may win a contract and lose the subsequent law suit
• Ignoring law may have materiel adverse consequences :
 Financial loss
 Criminal sanctions
 Damage to reputation
 …
Mastering law avoids value destruction Toute reproduction et diffusion interdites

13. And YOU business people, do you know what you can
expect from your lawyers ?
Here are some clues to make the most of your lawyers …
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14. Anticipate your need for legal advice
• Meet lawyers before you need them
proactivity
• Update lawyers on the business
legal watch
• Give lawyers reasonable deadlines
reliability Toute reproduction et diffusion interdites

15. Depict context, objectives and expected return
Lawyers need to get the big picture
• To fairly reflect in contract
• To alert on legal concerns
• To make a global risk assessment
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16. What you should not expect from your lawyer
• To be just a writer
• To be just a recorder
• To improvise
• To make a decision in your place
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17. What you can expect from your lawyer
reliable
pedagogic
pragmatic
proactive
communicator
adviser
wistleblower
risk manager
project manager
negotiator
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18. Topics you should never forget to talk to your lawyer
• Operations with more or higher risks
• Suspiscion of bribery
• Strategic projects and /or contracts
• Law firms
• Material disputes
• Serious injuries or fatalities
• Connections with US jurisdictions
• …
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19. And YOU lawyers, do you know how to deal with business
people ?
Here are some clues to strenghten your credibility with
them …
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20. More than an expert, be a true partner
• a service provider
 Negotiate deadlines
 Answer timely
 Be a project leader or contributor
 Demonstrate cost efficiencies
• a custodian of legal standards
 Ask intrusive questions
 Challenge motivations and objectives
 Avoid legal jargon
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21. More than an expert, be a true partner
• Organize training courses
Legal basics, compliance programs, …
• Communicate on your activity
Intranet, newsletters, flash, …
• Empower your customers
Standardized documents, procedures, guidelines, legal golden rules …

22. More than an expert, be a risk manager
• Highlight risks versus expected returns of the operation
• Make an assessment of the risks by hierarchy
• Prioritize treatment of risks
• Suggest solutions to manage the risks identified :
• Reduction
• Mitigation
• Elimination
• transfer Toute reproduction et diffusion interdites

23. Differences make complementarities…
Lawyers
• Anticipate
• Advise
• Avoid destruction of value
Businessmen
• Act
• Make decisions
• Create value
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24. You are both risk managers
Businessmen
• Prioritize :
• Customer risk
• Operational risk
• Credit crunch
• Market risk
• Communication risk
Lawyers
• Prioritize :
• Contractual liabilities
• Torts
• Fraud
• Criminal liabilities
• Bribery
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25. Risks are interconnected
• And overlapp
legal
communication
supplier
financial…
Customer
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26. And LRM is the link
• Legal risk Management encompasses :
• Management of legal risks
Legal watch, trainings, procedures, …
• Legal management of risks
• Law suit monitoring, trainings, guidelines, …
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27. You are both actors in the value creation chain
Leading to the global performance of the company
purchasers lawyers businessmen
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28. Conclusion : it takes two to tango …
• Lawyers, be more communicative !
• Businessmen, anticipate more !
• You two, speak « risk management » language… combined with ethics
This cooperation will bring a competitive advantage to your company
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29. Thank you for your attention
Contact me at : caroline.le@legalriskmanagement.fr
or
06 30 33 33 37
Visit my web site : www.legalriskmanagement.fr