The Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA) and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP (Davies) release the second annual In-House Corporate Counsel Barometer, an online survey developed by Ipsos Reid to uncover the opinions and attitudes of in-house corporate counsel.

The survey was distributed in February 2006 to CCCA members and non-members from a variety of organizations and industry sectors.  A total of 780 respondents make up the representative sample.

Some questions were repeated from last year to provide a consistent perspective.  These tracking measures reveal that:
• Job satisfaction remains high, though has dipped very slightly from 2005
• Nine in ten (87%) feel "candidly assessing risks" is their most valuable role - opinions essentially unchanged from last year
• Regulatory compliance remains the area of law that is most challenging for corporate counsel
In 2006, new questions were introduced that address: 1) the relationship with outside counsel; 2) experiences with alternative billing structures; and 3) additional aspects of corporate counsel's role within their organizations.

Highlights:
1) Relationship with outside counsel:
• Aside from litigation, identified as the top practice area to be outsourced, respondents also identified employment & labour, mergers & acquisitions and tax among the next most likely areas where they would seek the services of outside counsel
• 25% do not feel the services supplied by outside counsel over the last year have demonstrated value for money

2) Experiences with alternative billing structures:
• In their dealings with outside counsel, 38% of corporate counsel say that they or their organization has had experience in the past with billing structures other than hourly rates
• Of those who have had experience with alternative billing structures, 68% have worked with a "fixed fees" billing structure, 53% "capped fees", 48% "percent discounts", 22% "blended rates" and 19% "bonus structure based on results"

3) Corporate counsel's role:
• Seven in ten corporate counsel (68%) point to the "ability to see the big picture" as one of the top three personality attributes they believe are most important in successfully carrying out their responsibilities
• When asked what strategic issues their organization's corporate counsel is directly involved in, strong majorities point to "regulatory compliance" (69%), "crisis management" (61%) and "strategic development" (60%)
A copy of the full report is attached.

A .pdf version of the full report is available by clicking here.

CCCA provides a national forum for corporate counsel to advance the development of their practice of law, professional skills and careers as corporate counsel.  There are now over 8,400 regular and associate members and 11 regional chapters across Canada.

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP is focused on business law and is consistently ranked by independent rating agencies as a market leader in each of the firm's core practice areas. With more than 235 lawyers in Toronto, Montréal, New York, and an affiliate in Paris, Davies manages complex and sophisticated commercial and financial matters, regardless of borders.

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For information, contact:

CCCA
Silvie Kuppek
Acting Executive Director
Canadian Corporate Counsel Association
Tel: 416-869-0020
Fax: 416-869-0946
E-mail: skuppek@ccca-cba.org
http://www.cancorpcounsel.org/

Davies:
Paul Carder
Director of Marketing and Business Development
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Tel: 416-367-6975
Fax: 416-863-0871
E-mail: pcarder@dwpv.com
http://www.dwpv.com/