Because the role of the General Counsel is rapidly evolving and gaining in importance, this issue of Experts focuses on the heart of what we do every day in our Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Practice Group: help organizations select the right person for the role of chief legal officer. Choosing and preparing the right person has to be on the minds of not only the incumbent General Counsel and the CEO, to whom the position usually reports, but also Boards of Directors, which are increasingly involved in matters requiring legal scrutiny and advice. They must all understand the attributes and professional profile required for success in the role and make sure that they have in place an effective process for identifying, selecting and hiring the right candidates.
As with our previous issue of Experts, devoted to “The Compliance Challenge,” this issue is intended to provide you with insights you can use in addressing your issues of legal talent. In it you will learn how two outstanding General Counsels see the position: Kim K.W. Rucker of Avon Products, Inc. and Dr. Rolf Giebeler of Metro AG. Both of their companies are global and renowned and both General Counsels talk candidly about how they have seen their roles develop, the challenges they have experienced and what it takes to be credible and to perform at the highest level. In addition, the Global Head of our Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Practice, Joost Maes, describes the trends he observes in the search for General Counsels and recommends some best practices.
