Competencies for Counsel

Author: Richard G. Stock -Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 10th Annual Conference brochure (June 1998)

Positioning a law department at the "high-end of the spectrum" as a best-in-class performer must begin with the very active management of performance by the General Counsel and by the members of the department. The cornerstone of performance management is "competencies". Benchmarking interviews and consulting engagements with more than 20 Canadian law departments over the last two years have yielded several findings. Almost every department identified competencies for both management and professional positions. Competencies are the "demonstrated skills, knowledge and behaviors of individuals and / or teams."

However, two points are worth noting

• there is great variation in whether skills, knowledge and behaviors are also specified or whether the competency is stated more globally by the law department
• only five law departments specified legal competencies beyond the generic ones called for by the company, while the remaining companies encourage their departments to add these as technical or functional competencies

Grouping Competencies

A good number of companies have created extensive "competency dictionaries", based on their experience with external consultants retained to overhaul the performance management (capabilities goal setting / appraisal compensation training / development career management) systems. Several have gone further and grouped the competencies for strategic reasons and for ease of communication in the performance management process. Invariably, the competencies cover personal attributes, leadership qualities, business perspectives and functional / technical expertise. These are roughly the same broad categories retained by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in its template of competencies for the new financial professional.

Catalyst Consulting's Canadian benchmarking surveys produced, at least four examples of groupings

	Example 1		Example 2
	Getting the Job Done		Client Service
	Providing Legal Solutions to Business Questions		Leadership and Human Resource Management
	Working With Business Partners and Others		Results Management
	Example 3		Example 4
	Results Orientation		Strategic Management
	Problem Solving		Process/Results Management
	Leadership		Change Management
	People Skills		Personal Management
			People Management
The Competencies List
Achievement Oriented Adaptability ' Building Team Spirit Business acumen Career / Life Integration Commitment to Continuous Improvement Commitment to Learning Communications Competency Management Creating a Developmental Climate Critical Thinking Customer Focus Customer Insight Decision Making Developing People Resourcefulness Results Oriented Self Development Strategic Agility		Strategic Business Sense Teamwork Economics of Business Global Cultural Sensitivity Impact and Influence Influencing Initiative Innovative Management Leadership & Vision Managing Change Managing Vision and Purpose Organizational Savvy Planning and Managing Priorities Planning and Project Management Problem Solving and Analysis Relationship Management Technical Operating Skills Total Business Understanding Values and Ethics

Most of the competencies include a definition and from three to five indicators, or levels of proficiency each. The value of competencies (with the addition of legal-specific and technical competencies) for members of the law department is as a universal language shared with the rest of the company. Several General Counsel are regularly linking competencies mix and levels of required proficiency for their lawyers to the company's annual business objectives. In addition, they are able to establish rolling three-year forecasts for the competency mix for the department and for individual lawyers. The implications are direct and immediate on

• which performance objectives and targets are set each year
• the skills and indicators to measure / evaluate the outcomes and performance
• the proportion of total compensation which is variable and which depends on the demonstrated competence and results obtained by the lawyer
• the kind of training that is needed and the exposure to special projects or cases to develop as a member of a law department
• the effort required for lawyers to manage their career advancement and for the company to manage its intellectual capital

A Competency Profile

Both the speed and complexity of change are accelerating. To keep pace, organizations must constantly "re-invent" themselves, in part by capitalizing and expanding on its capabilities. The most progressive and successful companies focus on managing intellectual capital. Lawyers working inside the organization play unique and diverse roles and can leverage their contributions. The competencies most in demand for in-house counsel are identified.

Personal Attributes Attributes are the unique characteristics and qualities which describe the business professional.

• Results-Oriented
• Efficient
• Committed
• Thorough
• Forward Thinker *
• Creative Thinker *
• Communicator *
• Relationship Builder
• Service-Oriented *
• Confident o Adaptable *
• Objective

Leadership and Development Competencies

Obtaining maximum personal and law department leverage requires proficiency in these competencies, and allows a lawyer to assume a position of influence and power in an organization.

• Leadership
• Impact and Influence
• Innovation
• Teamwork
• Developing People
• Commitment to Learning

Business and Client Competencies

This body of knowledge and skills includes an understanding of the organization, its industry, its management practices and their applicability to the organization.

• Customer-Focused
• Achievement-Oriented
• Resourceful
• Critical Thinking
• Strategic Business Sense

Functional and Technical Knowledge / Skills

In the case of lawyers, these are the "traditional skills that they possess and which form the basis for their unique ability to understand an organization from a perspective that others cannot." Some of the knowledge and skills will vary according to the work setting and type of business, while others skills are universal.

• Risk Mitigation
• Broad Legal Knowledge and Legal Drafting
• Dispute Resolution / Litigation / Prosecution
• Oil and Gas Law or Railway Law or Municipal Law or the Bank Act etc.
• Real Property Law
• Corporate / Commercial Law

Application

Lawyers in the first five years of a career should acquire the functional / technical skills and knowledge in every area. This usually requires a law department to pay close attention to formal work allocation, mentoring and tracking of competencies. Intermediate lawyers develop proficiencies and attributes in all four categories. In practical terms, they should be able to thoroughly manage internal client relationships and to develop in-depth capabilities for at least two functional / technical skills. Senior and management lawyers, in all but the smallest law departments, should focus on strategic and executive requirements of the business, on developing the intellectual capital of the department, and on considering non-legal executive responsibilities in the organization.

This article was based on benchmarking research conducted in part for CIBC Legal Division and presented at the CCCA Spring 1998 conference, jointly by Brian Quinlan, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel, CIBC and the author.