Building Bridges And Not Walls

// Last year, I wrote an article called “The Secret To In-House Life: A Gladiator No More.” In that article, I wrote about the need for lawyers who worked as in-house lawyers to be more collaborative and less combative. How? I suggested that in-house lawyers take the time to learn the business and their role in it; I suggested that they devote time to building relationships; and I suggested that they stop talking like lawyers. Recently, I spoke with Jon Jelenko, director of sales for the software company Docket, and we discussed just that. What does all this really mean for in-house lawyers interested in improving collaboration?

From my conversation with Jon, I think that we would both agree that learning the business and building relationships among business partners is fairly straightforward. The challenge for lawyers, however, is how they communicate with their internal business partners. Let’s face it. Lawyers talk like lawyers and the legal department speaks a language that is too often foreign to the legal department’s internal business partners and supporting business units. The legal department, however, is not alone in this regard. Legal speaks Legal, Sales speaks Sales, IT speaks IT, and Finance speaks Finance. When internal business partners don’t speak the same language, it should come as no surprise that communication becomes muddled and frustration and inefficiencies result for everyone.

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Assuming that communication is key, what can in-house lawyers and legal department do? They can put aside the urge to build walls and work to build bridges between business units. Legal department, its internal business partners, and the supporting business units need to work together for the good of the company as a whole. Each unit plays a different part in supporting the success of the company. Each role is vital, but no one role is more important than another role. Different business units have different priorities, but understanding the different priorities for each business unit helps drive better communication and collaboration: the legal department is trying to minimize liability and risk; the sales department is trying to maximize revenue; the IT department is trying to drive technological efficiency; and the finance department is trying to limit cost. If you understand each of these perspectives and priorities, it’s much easier to effectively collaborate with them.

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In my experience, in-house lawyers and legal departments can be in the best position to tear down walls and build bridges because of the amount of information to which they become privy. Why? An in-house counsel who has done a good job of learning the business and forging strong relationships with internal business partners and supporting business units is the person other company employees seek out when they are dealing with an issue and do not know how to proceed. An in-house counsel who takes the time for that meeting or call can learn so much about the company’s operations, unit priorities, and unit challenges. Armed with that unique knowledge and perspective, the in-house counsel is uniquely situated to act as a bridge between units that are dealing with a similar business issue.

What’s the value of that for an in-house lawyer? Information is your currency.  Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz summed it up nicely in her article “Random Important Things You Need To Know When You’re In-House”:

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I have seen how knowing what’s going on in different parts of the business, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that your leadership is in the know can be powerful ways for you to exponentially demonstrate your value, set you apart from your peers by building trust and credibility, and have influence at the company.

As Sir Isaac Newton once said about people in general, “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” As in-house lawyers, let’s not let this be our legacy. Let’s tear down walls and build bridges.

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Thanks for collaborating with me on this article, Jon Jelenko, and thanks to Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz for the inspiration.

Lisa Lang is an in-house lawyer and thought leader who is passionate about all things in-house.  She has recently launched a website and blog Why This, Not That™ to serve as a resource for in-house lawyers.  You can e-mail her at [email protected], connect with her on LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter.

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Jon Jelenko is a legal technology evangelist who has spent most of his career working with corporate legal departments. He is currently Director of Sales at Docket, and you can always reach him over email at [email protected] or connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonjelenko.

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Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Jon Jelenko, Lisa Lang