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The days of the general counsel serving as a business’s legal gatekeeper are firmly behind us, with the general counsel of Woolworths Group highlighting how the role has fundamentally evolved – and what it truly means to be a modern GC today.
For decades, the general counsel has been seen as the business’s legal gatekeeper, the voice responsible for navigating complex legal issues, identifying risk, ensuring compliance and, ultimately, determining what an organisation could and could not do.
But that traditional role is being rapidly redefined.
General counsel are increasingly stepping beyond the legal silo to become strategic business partners, expected to be as commercially minded and technologically savvy as they are legally astute.
Jade Droguett, general counsel, strategic partnerships and e-commerce at Woolworths Group, said this evolution has fundamentally reshaped the role, with modern GCs no longer simply brought in to identify legal risks or solve problems after they arise.
Instead, she highlighted how they now have a seat at the table, working alongside business leaders to navigate complexity, shape strategic decisions, and turn commercial objectives into tangible outcomes.
“The days of the general counsel acting as a legal gatekeeper are well and truly behind us. We’ve evolved from reactive problem-solvers into proactive, strategic business partners,” she said.
That evolution is also redefining what value looks like in-house, with Droguett arguing that success is no longer measured by legal output alone, but by the strategic judgement, adaptability, and commercial insight GCs bring to the business.
“Today, our value isn’t measured in six-minute increments, but in strategic judgement and adaptability,” she said.
As the GC role has evolved, so too have expectations, with Droguett making clear that technical legal expertise is no longer the finish line – it is simply the starting point.
“Because of this shift, the standards organisations hold us to have completely changed. Providing strict technical advice is just the baseline now,” she said.
She explained that today’s GCs must understand an organisation’s commercial objectives, pressure points, and risk appetite, using that insight to drive business outcomes and enable growth rather than stand in its way.
“Executive teams and boards expect us to deeply understand the business’s commercial objectives, pressure points, and risk appetite, and use that insight to drive commercial outcomes rather than bottlenecking them,” she said.
As the role continues to evolve, Droguett also flagged how modern GCs must be comfortable navigating uncertainty and working across the business, bringing teams together to turn complexity into clear, strategic action and help shape better outcomes.
“They need us to be comfortable leading through ambiguity and collaborating seamlessly across all parts of the business,” she said.
Ultimately, Droguett argued that the modern general counsel is being asked to step into a far broader leadership role, one that goes well beyond determining whether something is legally permissible and instead helps shape where the organisation goes next.
“We aren’t just asked if something is legally permissible anymore – we are expected to be multidisciplinary leaders who step out of the legal silo and actively help draw the blueprint for the organisation’s future,” she said.
