By now, even the folks at Thomson Reuters Institute are sick of the more-with-less challenge. In the Executive Summary leading their 2023 report, State of the Corporate Law Department, they call it an “eye-rolling cliche among corporate law departments.” “As a result, TRI says, “even at a time when pressure to control outside counsel costs remains high, corporate law departments, by and large, anticipate increasing legal spend across practices, global regions, and industry sectors.” Much of that results from a shift in focus from 2019 to 2022. The key change worldwide is the increased importance of compliance/regulatory requirements, which, as the accompanying chart shows, shot from fifth place on the list to first place. “The top priorities for corporate law departments globally fall into familiar categories,” TRI says, “A shifting regulatory landscape has caused compliance to rise to the top of the priority list for many companies.” That said, compliance is #1 globally, including across Europe and Asia Pacific. Cut to the U.S., however, and compliance drops to #5 on the list and cost control leaps to the top.
Published May 4, 2023.
