ICW | Mondaq
Global In-House Counsel Report 2024
Unique Insights into the Global In-House Profession
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INTRODUCTION
In-House Counsel Worldwide (ICW) and Mondaq are pleased to present the results of our inaugural 2024 Global In-House Counsel Survey.
This report provides insight into the current state and future trends of the global in-house counsel profession. With global in-house counsel respondents from over 60 countries and feedback across all in-house job levels, the report provides unique insights into areas including investment priorities, in-house activities, outsourcing, as well as several important people-focused topics.
We’d like to thank the global in-house community for their participation in our new survey, as well as our advisory board participants for their sage counsel. Thank you also to our survey and report sponsor, Alexa Translations, for enabling us to further amplify the survey findings and analysis.
It’s our hope that you’ll find this report useful in helping you to make informed decisions about your and your global legal department’s priorities now and in the future.
In-House Counsel Worldwide (ICW) is a global network of member-associations that represent the legal professionals who work as corporate counsel and/or in-house lawyers within companies or organisations.
The primary mandate of ICW is to unite this community globally to share best practices, standardize competencies, promote standards and ethics, and collaborate to advance this sector of the legal profession for both the lawyers and their organisations.
Mondaq is a leading global provider of AI-enabled content marketing, data and analytics solutions for professional services firms. Mondaq powers firms’ marketing & business development success through client, prospect and market insights based on a global audience of senior-level decision makers.
Mondaq delivers answers to legal, tax and compliance questions to an audience of over 20 million readers worldwide.
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METHODOLOGY
In March 2024, ICW and Mondaq launched a new, annual Global In-House Counsel Survey.
The survey’s aim is to provide unique insight into global legal departments and the global in-house counsel profession, by being one of the most comprehensive and representative surveys into the state of global in-house legal departments.
Nearly 400 respondents from over 60 countries, across different job levels, completed the 41-question online survey between March and May 2024, with questions covering a number of areas that are important to global in-house legal departments and in-house counsel, including investment priorities, in-house activity, outsourcing, technology and innovation and people-focussed questions (culture, challenges, wellbeing, equality, diversity & inclusion).
This was followed by a voluntary self-identification section, which over 50% of respondents went on to complete.
To provide rigorous oversight and authority, the survey was designed in partnership with our survey Advisory Board, which includes eminent global in-house counsel.
Advisory Board
Steven Rotstein
President
ICW
Philippe Coen
Vice President
ICW
Daniel Choo
Co-President
Singapore Corporate Counsel Association
Alison Lee
Chief Executive Officer
Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa
Location
A
Role
Organization Size by Employees
PARTICIPANT PROFILE
The survey responses have provided the representative view we were seeking, with 38% of participants providing a view from the top (CLOs/GCs) and excellent representation throughout global legal departments, with a significant number of Senior Counsel (17%), Counsel (13%) and Director of Legal Services/Legal Manager (17%).
The survey saw excellent response levels from public companies (36%) and private companies (53%), representing all the key industry sectors and organization sizes, as well as from government organizations (5%) and not-for profits (4%).
The survey responses are also geographically distributed, from North America (27%) to Latin America (10%), Europe (20%), Asia Pacific (28%) and the Middle East & Africa (15%), to provide a regionally balanced lens into the global in-house profession. More survey respondent specifics are to be found in the Participant Profile charts to the right.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As the effects of troubling regional conflicts and political turmoil reverberate through the world’s economies, In-House Counsel Worldwide & Mondaq’s 2024 In-House Counsel Report seeks to reveal the challenges, issues and priorities facing global in-house legal teams worldwide.
The extensive questionnaire and survey participation allow us to provide unique insight into the current state of global legal departments and their direction of travel for the coming year – as well as insights into the global in-house professional today.
In the current climate, in-house counsel face numerous challenges – which can be seen as contributors to dramatically rising levels of workload and a corresponding increase in work-related stress and anxiety levels.
~400
Respondents
> 60
Countries
In response, almost four out of ten legal departments expect to see growth in global in-house counsel budgets over the coming year. Demand for in-house services looks set to rise significantly – with investment in additional people and technology being the main focus of increased spend.
Within this increasing demand for in-house services, there is a strong emphasis on supporting business growth, with risk management and compliance responsibilities also prominent. In fact, in-house counsel are carrying a significant breadth of accountabilities beyond their legal remit. These include compliance, ethics, company secretarial, investigations and government relations responsibilities.
54%
of respondents seeing an increase in
work-related stress and anxiety levels in
the last year
The increasing levels of accountabilities raise the prospect of a potential employee wellbeing and mental health crisis looming in the coming years. There is limited evidence of companies recognizing the emerging need to prioritize employee support and wellbeing within legal departments.
The changing landscape and the attendant demand for in-house legal services is also driving increased spend on technology. Globally, around two-thirds of companies expect to invest more in technology. But almost 8 in 10 view cost as the biggest barrier to technology adoption.
Increasing levels of in-house demand, workload and accountabilities raise the prospect of a potential employee wellbeing and mental health crisis
AI / Generative AI is a key focus area for innovation for a substantial 44% of companies globally. We also expect to see investment growth in supportive technologies around data privacy and security management – plus the digitalization and automation of contracts, documents and processes.
Post-pandemic, hybrid working models now seem well-established with over 70% of counsel able to access a mix of office and home or remote working arrangements. However, there are stark differences regionally, with 81% of counsel in Europe and 74% in North America offered hybrid, compared to just 32% in the Middle East and Africa.
But concerns around employee engagement, remote use of sensitive data and confidence in remote-working technology may be adding to rising stress levels – and spotlight where employee support may need to be focused.
legal departments expect to see growth in global
in-house counsel budgets over the coming year
4 OUT OF 10
While additional investment in people and technology will meet much of the rising demand for internal services, companies also expect to increase their spending on outside counsel. From the buy-side, when selecting outside counsel there is almost universal consensus that practical advice, legal expertise and understanding of the buyer’s business are the most important factors – far more so than the existence of senior-level relationships.
It is evident that the best in-house lawyers today require so much more than legal skills. Our survey shows that understanding of the business stands out as the primary requirement, with flexibility and the ability to give practical advice much to the fore – alongside legal expertise.
It’s likely that the broadening of accountabilities and demand for business-aware skills indicate a rise in reach and influence that in-house counsel can have within the organization.
The best in-house lawyers today require so much more than legal skills
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Budgets & Investment Priorities
Almost four in ten global legal departments (38%) expect to see growth in global in-house counsel budgets over the coming year. This is significantly more than the 18% that expect budgets to decline.
The most pronounced growth is likely to be in the privately held companies. Here, 42% expect budget growth compared to just 15% expecting decline. But among publicly held companies, the difference narrows to just 28% that expect budget growth against 22% expecting decline.
But there is a marked difference across regions, with budget growth expectations being highest in Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Almost two-thirds (65%) of MEA and 47% of LatAm headquartered companies expect budgets to rise. In Asia Pacific the percentage drops to 34% both Europe and North America, that proportion drops to just under
one-third (32%).
Technology is the clear leader among investment priorities. Globally around two-thirds of public and private companies expect to increase technology spending. The regional picture is broadly consistent, with 55-60% of companies expecting to spend more on technology. Across most regions a small proportion of legal departments – fewer than 5% – expect to reduce their technology investment. North America is the exception, where 13% of companies expect to spend less on legal department technology.
Expected Size of The Total Global In-House Legal Department Budget Over The Next Year:
Technology is the clear leader among investment priorities. Two-thirds of global legal departments expect to increase technology spending
Staffing is the next main beneficiary of additional investment, with 39% of companies globally expecting budget growth for in-house staff. In Middle East & Africa region the figure rises significantly to 67%. Across the globe this increase is likely driven by both salary inflation as well as via new recruitment, as 34% of organizations globally expect in-house headcount growth.
Global legal departments also expect to increase their spending on outside counsel, albeit at a more modest rate than on technology and staffing. The proportion of private companies expecting to do so (35%) is significantly higher than those expecting to reduce outside counsel spending (23%). The figures broadly balance for public companies, indicating tighter management of spend on outside counsel in listed companies.
Where outside counsel budget growth is expected, the regional picture is mixed. 35-37% of companies across North America, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa expect to spend more, 31% of Latin American companies but only 24% of European companies. Europe is also the only region where there is a higher proportion (28%) of companies expecting to reduce their spend on external counsel.
Expected Increase in In-House Demand
Additional investment in both technology and staff may be as a consequence of increased pressure on in-house demand, with large rises expected in global legal department activity across a range of areas.
Large majorities of global in-house departments expect to see increasing focus in areas such as Risk & Compliance (72%), Data Privacy (62%) and Contract Management (57%). Departments can also expect substantial increases in activities around Business Strategy & Advice (41%), Dispute Resolution (34%) and Labour & Employment (29%).
So, while demand for in-house services looks set to rise significantly, investment in additional people and technology is expected to scale up to meet that demand.
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OUTSOURCING
Outsourcing
Reliance on outside counsel will remain strong despite the anticipated rise in legal department headcount. This may in part be a response to heightened levels of accountability and demand on in-house resources. In the coming year, almost one-third (32%) of companies globally expect to spend more on outsourcing work to external counsel. But this will be offset by 23% reducing their outsourcing spend. So, the overall increase in spending is likely to be relatively modest.
Reliance on outside counsel will remain strong despite the anticipated rise in
legal department headcount
All of the regions, bar Europe, are expecting a modest increase in the value of work outsourced to outside counsel. North America and Asia Pacific are expecting the biggest increase, while Europe is one of the only regions where the number of organizations expecting to spend less on outside counsel, outweigh those planning to spend more.
Important Factors When Selecting Outside Counsel
As to the crucial factors for buyers when selecting outside counsel, there is a high correlation of the top five buy-side drivers both across regions and between public and private companies. In fact, there’s almost universal consensus that practical advice (99%), legal expertise (98%) and understanding of the buyer’s business (97%) are the most important factors. Over 8 in 10 companies also rate each of these as ‘very important’. Client service (94%) and value for money (93%) are the next most important. It’s notable that North American companies place a distinctly higher priority on client service, with three-quarters rating it very important, against the global figure of 67%. Only 22% of companies say existing senior-level relationships are very important. This may indicate to firms that buyers may no longer set so much store in long-standing relationships.
When Outsourcing
89%
66%
Outsource within
their Home Country
Outsource outside of
their Home Country
Top 3 Buy-Side Factors When Selecting Outside Counsel
99%
practical advice
98%
legal expertise
97%
understanding of the buyer’s business
Turning to the types of work most likely to be outsourced, we see highest demand for outside counsel in areas new to the organization (73% of respondents) – and where it seeks expert opinion or assurance on specific activities or transactions (70%). Over half of respondents (55%) would also seek outside counsel advice both in emerging areas of law, and for activities where there’s a lack of internal capacity. Interestingly, public companies’ global legal departments are 20% more likely than their private counterparts to outsource advice on emerging areas of law.
These four main areas are common across both private and public companies, and across all regions. There is also a clear distance between the top four and other criteria for outsourced work.
Other Outsourcing
Broadly one-fifth (22%) of all in-house legal teams use Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) for services that law firms would traditionally offer. This rises to 24% for large organizations of over 5,000 employees. Public companies are more likely than private companies to use ALSPs. The global figure varies regionally by a few percentage-points and is highest in Asia-Pacific, where a quarter of companies use ALSPs.
E-discovery is outsourced by just under one in ten legal departments in public companies, rising to over 17% in private companies. It’s most prevalent in North America, with one in five companies outsourcing, and least likely in Asia-Pacific (8%).
By contrast, translation services are more likely to be used by companies in Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa regions than in Europe and North America.
The most popular destinations for outsourcing legal department work are India, Philippines, Singapore, Netherlands, Canada and South Africa.
Percentage of Legal Departments Using
ALSPs
E-discovery
22%
14%
16%
Translation services
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INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
Innovation
69% of organizations globally cite innovation as a priority for legal and regulatory risk management. The majority is most emphatic in the private held companies. Here, 70% prioritize innovation compared to around two-thirds of public companies.
Among private companies there are also significant regional differences. Almost three-quarters of companies across Europe (74%), Asia-Pacific (73%) and Middle East & Africa (71%) give innovation as priority. In North America the figure drops to 61%.
Artificial intelligence & Generative AI are clearly viewed as the primary areas of focus by an overall 44% of companies globally. This is effectively double the next most-rated innovation area, Contract Management. Digitalisation (becoming paperless) is the third most prevalent subject, prioritized by broadly 1-in-8 companies across sectors and regions. In North America, 11% of respondents also mention document and process management.
68%
of global legal departments cite investment in technology
as a priority
Technology
Investment in technology is highly prominent in legal spending plans, with 68% of organizations citing investment in technology as a priority and 62% of organizations expecting an increase in investment in technology, against just 6% that expect to reduce their investment. Privately owned companies in particular are focused on this area. Almost three-quarters (73%) say that investment in legal department technology is a priority.
There is also a marked difference between the level of priority given in the Latin America, Middle East & Africa and Asia-Pacific regions (80%, 76% and 73% respectively), compared to Europe (67%) and North America (61%).
Regional Differences Among Companies when Prioritising Legal Department Innovation
Most investment growth is expected to be in four technology areas, broadly consistent across geographies and between public and private companies. Data privacy & security management is generally the highest priority, along with document management, contract lifecycle management and contract automation. The vast majority of legal departments (over 80%) will continue investing in these areas – and most investment growth is focused within these areas.
69%
of global legal departments cite innovation as a priority for legal and regulatory risk management
Workflow management, e-signatures, and Legal research/precedent databases can also expect to see more growth than decline in technology investment. Investment levels among private companies will be notably higher than in public companies, by roughly 10 percentage points.
Latin America and the Middle East & Africa region expects the highest levels of legal department technology investment growth. The main priorities are legal research/precedent databases, and data privacy & security management. Workflow management, document management and contract automation technologies also feature prominently.
Asia-Pacific will also focus on specific technologies such as workflow management and e-signatures, in addition to the four main areas. Investment by North American and European companies also appears to be more distributed across various technologies.
Number of Organizations Expecting to Invest More in These Technologies
49%
42%
Data privacy & security management
Contract lifecycle management