2. Today’s Presentation
• Why lawyers go in-house – the coming of
age of “in-house” practice
• How I view my role at “the top table”
• The essential attributes of an effective in-
house counsel
• Passion and leadership, the winning
combination!
3. Why Go In-House?
The “Usual Suspects”
• Achieving a “work-life balance”, perhaps….
• Measuring one’s life in six-minute units
• Possibilities for share options and other incentives
• Job satisfaction, or “this photocopy machine is more of a
profit center to this firm than you are”
• Since when is being “commercial” a pejorative?
• “In-house” practice has come of age in highly regulated,
developed economies
4. Success in an In-house role
“He who loves the law, is doomed
to have his fill of it”
• In-house practice can add a new and exciting dimension
to legal practice
• When to go in-house?
• To succeed in the role, the General Counsel should first
and foremost be a seasoned legal practitioner
5. My Values as a Lawyer and
as General Counsel
“Low key, but aggressive”
• Always skeptical – “To persuade others, means
to risk being persuaded”
• A supportive “team player” across the business
• Proud of my profession and achievements
• Devoted to my client and the law
6. The Role of General Counsel in a
Values Based Organization
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”
– William Shakespeare
• Supporting the business decision-makers
• Achieving internal consensus through leadership and
teamwork
• Utilizing the legal function to project and protect the
company’s culture and values
7. Building Trust
“What shall we feed you”?
– My very thoughtful China Mobile colleagues….
• Cultural awareness on the job
• How mature is your company’s legal function?
• Aligning with the business
• Defusing tensions, or “I’m calling the White
House”
• Protect your client’s confidences
8. Bridging the Gap
“Mr Chairman, I am not a potted plant”
– Defense Attorney Brendan Sullivan, The US Iran-Contra Hearings
• External legal advice is no longer “optional” for
large corporations
• “Horses for courses” and “bang for the buck”
• The incentive to be inefficient, or why the
general counsel should make the decision to
hire external legal advisors
9. To whom do you owe a duty?
• Your client is the company, not the CEO, a
director, or any employee
• Where it is foreseeable that the interests of
others may diverge or conflict with those of the
company, you have an ethical duty to alert
others to your role
• Avoid the charge, “I thought you were advising
me”?
10. Independence
“Loyal words grate against the ear”
-- A well-known Chinese saying….
• Professionals are different
• Above all, the general counsel must be
“credible”
• Balancing your obligation of loyalty with
your obligation of independence as an
officer of the court
11. Embracing risk
“Don’t tell me why I can’t, tell me how I can”
• Lawyers are paid to be creative – avoid posing questions
without offering to find a solution
• The general counsel’s role has limits – know yours
• Fulfill your duty – then step back!
• No risk, no reward – sometimes
• An effective general counsel must be a courageous
advocate – “war stories” from New York
12. Protecting the Legal Function
• Practice law aggressively, and defensively
• Keep a paper trail
• It’s not what you know that matters, it’s
what you can prove
13. Tools of the Trade
“English is a second language
for many lawyers”
• Vodafone is a “communications” company
• Lawyers are judged by the quality of their work
product
• Simple and direct
• Use the “spelling and grammar” function
• The “kiss of death” for any C.V.
14. Leveraging Resources
• Utilize a tiered in-house structure
• Avoid being “a victim of your own success”, push
low value, low risk work back to the business
• Reuse legal knowledge
• Seek out the high value, high risk assignments
• Be an educated consumer of external legal
services
15. “Lead, follow, or get out of the way”
– Lee Iacocca, the Chrysler Corporation
If you bring a passion for the law
to your work,
your legal team and business colleagues
will know it!
16. Thank You!
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the views of Vodafone Group Plc. or Vodafone New Zealand Limited
Comments may be directed to “david.kreider@vodafone.com”
