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4 J.L. & Com. 45 (1984)
The Changing Role of Corporate Counsel

handle is hein.journals/jlac4 and id is 51 raw text is: THE CHANGING ROLE OF CORPORATE COUNSEL Richard L. Fischer* A general counsel responsible for the delivery of legal services to a major corporation is faced with unparalleled challenges and opportunities. The burden of complying with an ever-increasing body of regulations flowing from federal, state, local and foreign governments has grown significantly. These regulations reach into such disparate corporate activities as personnel policies, safety prac- tices, environmental controls and financial decisions. In addition, there has been a dramatic increase in resort to the courts to settle disputes among divergent complainants in a wide variety of matters. Corporations have by and large been the unwilling objects of this litigation and regulatory explosion, thus causing corporate manag- ers to join in the chorus against rising legal costs.' Given the growth in volume, complexity and costs of legal serv- ices, the general counsel of a major corporation, responsible for managing the delivery of required legal services to its corporate cli- ent, faces some serious challenges which when examined carefully provide attractive opportunities for improved management. The recession of the early 1980's may have marked a watershed of sorts for corporate law departments. Faced with deteriorating in- come during the downturn in the economy, most large American corporations2 have been carefully scrutinizing their overhead costs. Reviews of this nature may produce significant changes in the oper- * Vice President and General Counsel, Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pa.; A.B., J.D., University of Pittsburgh; LL.M., Georgetown University; member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. The writer gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Bar- bara J. Gardner and Lawrence V. Castner of the Alcoa Legal Department in the preparation of this article. I. References to the legal profession as a growth business are rarely uttered except in a pejorative sense. Luton, Controlling Costsfor Outside Counsel, P.L.I. CORPORATE LAW AND PRACTICE HANDBOOK No. 281 23-24 (1978). The profession has been criticized for its apparent inability or unwillingness to help unclog the court systems and find methods of settling disputes as an alternative to costly litigation. Too Many Lawyers?, Pittsburgh Press, Aug. 17, 1983, at B-2, col. I (reporting remarks made at the 1983 American Bar Association Convention). Hourly rates at many of the major law firms have kept pace with the high inflation rates of the late 1970's and early 1980's. Profit Pressures on the Big Law Firms, FORTUNE, Apr. 19, 1982, at 84, 86. This took place despite available productivity improvements such as word processing techniques and auto- mated legal research. Id 2. Company Retreats include Outside Counselfor Cost-Cutting Teamwork, 1 OF COUNSEL,

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