The Association of Corporate Counsel of ABAÂ recently revealed the results of its annual survey of chief legal officers. Compared to previous years, more of the 1,165 who responded said that they are planning to increase their legal departments in the coming year (37 percent). Similarly, fewer respondents said that their legal departments were affected by the economic downturn (54 percent versus 74 percent in 2009). Although legal officers are generally facing expanding duties and changing roles, the vast majority reported satisfaction with their career (92 percent).
 The largest problem facing those who responded to the survey was keeping apprised of their company’s activities that may have legal implications (35 percent). Other areas of concern include too much work for their resources/budget (19 percent) and managing outside legal costs (18 percent). The top way in-house counsel attempt to manage expenses is through alternative fee arrangements with outside counsel (57 percent) followed by increased use of in-house paralegals, contract lawyers, or other administrative staff (43 percent).
The next highest response, 19%, said the top issue was doing “too much work for too little/resources/legal budget.” And another18 percent cited outside legal costs as their biggest headache.
But there were some bright spots too. One upbeat note, ACC general counsel James Merklinger said, was an increased trend in hiring more law department staff, reflecting “positive growth within in-house legal departments.” The survey said more CLOs (37%) are planning to add staff in the coming year than reported in 2009, 2008, or 2007.
Another bright spot was confirmation that, overall, chief legal officers are a contented lot. An overwhelming majority (92%) said that despite expanding duties or changing roles of the CLO, they are still satisfied with their chosen careers.
Only 54 percent said that their department has been affected this year by the economic downturn—a significant drop from the 74 percent reported in 2009. Negative impacts of the economy included an increased workload for their departments, followed by decreases in outside counsel expenditures and internal salary freezes.
The survey ranked the number one way to manage expenses, according to 57 percent of the CLOs, as alternative fee arrangements with outside counsel. Another 43 percent said they have increased the use of paralegals, contract lawyers, or other administrative staff, presumably in place of outside counsel.
To improve their relationships with outside counsel, more than one-half of all respondents would like to see more focus on matter and budget management (59%), as well as alternative fees, fixed fees, and/or discounted rates (47%).
