Breaking out of the box

THE recent months of pandemic-induced lockdown has made us all familiar with seeing ourselves, family, friends and business contacts contained within "boxes" that are now found in the ubiquitous virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

As we transition into the post-pandemic's new normal, we are all challenged to respond creatively and innovatively to this changed paradigm. Lawyers are no exception. We will need to go beyond the "box" of being just mere lawyers in the post-Covid world.

In a recent study conducted by Gartner Inc, less than 10 per cent of general counsels (GCs) play an executive role in their companies. In a separate poll initiated by Gartner, which is a NYSE-listed research and advisory firm, it was found that only 8 per cent of GCs embraced the role of a corporate executive that went beyond their legal role, even though 46 per cent claimed that it was their ideal role. More than half of the GCs polled (59 per cent) indicated that they only served as lead attorneys for the corporations they work for, focusing on legal issues and related tactical work.