How can lawyers take a seat at the top table as strategic advisers

It is interesting that at a time when regulation and legal complexity is rising – and general counsel are assuming greater seniority within companies – there is still a perception in some quarters of boards and executive leadership that lawyers are not commercial enough. You hear criticisms like: “they always say no”; “they are too risk-averse”; “they outline the issues but don’t provide clear recommendations”; or “they don’t seem to be in the tent with us.”

There are often sound reasons why lawyers take a position that may not rest well with boards and management – presenting “uncomfortable truths” is part of the job. Lawyers’ obligations and ethical requirements are different from those running a company, and they have to retain professional discipline to ensure the integrity of their advice and their objectivity. Often, they are also privy to sensitive and confidential information, which can make for a lonely position and does not always lend itself to collaboration.

However, there are many lawyers who have managed to enhance their influence as strategic and commercial partners, while remaining true to their professional obligations.

Getting to the top table of strategic decision making takes more than just deep legal expertise. It requires building trust, demonstrating business acumen, and consistently showing how legal insight can unlock opportunities, not just prevent problems.

In preparation for a recent presentation on this topic, I spoke to many successful lawyers and the businesspeople who engage them, and identified the following tips for lawyers to become more strategic.

• Get up to speed on the industry in which you are working, and at a granular level, genuinely try to discover how that company produces value.
• Fully immerse yourself in the strategic direction of the organisation and the different initiatives being pursued to achieve that.
• Develop a tight-loose mental model. Delineate between the technical legal aspects of the task at hand, which requires a “tight” application of legal disciplines, and identify what elements require a “looser” approach (where the commercial pay-off may outweigh elaborate adherence to process).
• Work collaboratively with different members of the company team to fully understand their roles, the pressure on them and the distinct expertise they bring to what the organisation needs to achieve. Try to avoid just lawyers talking to lawyers.
• Cascade information up and down the organisation – whether to the CEO, management, or board – and work collaboratively across functions such as the company secretary and chief risk officer.
• Earn a reputation among colleagues and clients as a business problem solver. If someone comes to you with a problem, they leave with an implementable solution (not more complexity or additional problems).
• Share the strategic expectations (of the company or client) with your team and legal colleagues, so everyone understands the context and sets the tone that legal advice is not provided in isolation.
• Identify the strategic value that you bring to the top table. Yes, it will be legal knowledge, but is it also corporate history, visibility over numerous functions, pattern recognition, or unique insights from another industry?
• Without venturing into areas outside your remit, broaden the aperture of your advice and learn from other experts who are providing non-legal know-how.
• Perfect the art of oscillating between the minutiae of the detail with always focusing on the fundamentals of the high-level strategic direction.
• Ensure you have a broad and diverse network. If your colleagues, peers, and friends are all lawyers, the probability of being able to think beyond this frame becomes more difficult.

It is interesting that many professionals – ranging from engineers to marketers – are asking themselves how they can assume their position as the top advisers. Given the extent of risks that companies face and the commercial cost of not getting them right, the demand for professionals who can manage this is very high.

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Lawyers are trained to think in a particular way, and that analytical discipline is precisely what adds value to strategic discussions. Lawyers are entitled to take a seat at the top table, but that position is earned, not just assumed.

Robert Skeffington is the senior managing director at FTI Consulting. The views expressed herein are those of the author.