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Though highly valued by their companies, legal teams are often perceived as roadblocks and overly risk averse — a long-standing perception that can have negative repercussions for cross-team collaboration, according to ACC’s The State of Collaboration in Corporate Legal Departments report.
Most survey respondents (80 percent) agreed that their company at large understands the value the in-house legal department brings, with nearly three-quarters (74 percent) reporting they deliver strategic business advice beyond just legal advice. But despite advancements in technology, hiring of legal operations professionals, and other efforts, the stereotype of the legal encumbrance remains.
More than half of respondents (58 percent) say the legal department is perceived as a roadblock that slows projects down, and 41 percent believe the legal team is seen as overly risk averse. Only 18 percent of respondents reported receiving no negative feedback. And these two primary negative perceptions of the legal team are even more severe among large businesses (US$10 billion or more).
This may be the reason that nearly half (45 percent) of respondents say they are brought into important corporate initiatives only after most strategic decisions have been made. As a result, two-thirds (64 percent) say their legal team takes a mixed approach to addressing legal issues: sometimes proactively and sometimes reactively, while another 18 percent believe their legal team normally takes a more reactive approach to addressing issues.
The perception gap is stark when it comes to critical decision-making and responding to issues. Those who reported having received no negative feedback were nearly 20 percent points more likely to be brought into important corporate initiatives at the earliest stages compared to those who reported some negative perception (60.6 percent vs. 41.6 percent). Additionally, those with some negative perception were nearly three times more likely to be brought in only after a crisis occurs (8.9 percent vs. 3 percent).
And those who reported having received no negative feedback were almost three times less likely to report being somewhat or always reactive in response to legal issues when compared to those who reported a negative perception (7.6 percent to 20 percent).
Negative perceptions about the legal team can have a dire impact on collaboration, which may undermine a key strategic goal for legal departments. A full 70 percent of legal professionals reported their top goal for the next 12 months is better alignment internally with other business units — alignment that is contingent on positive perception and increased collaboration. To learn more about the state of collaboration in corporate legal departments, download the full report.
