By Blandine CORDIER-PALASSE, Décideurs Juridiques, p.44
The significant development of compliance is forcing in-house lawyers to redefine their skills, their scope of intervention and their posture. Blandine Cordier-Palasse helps her clients, both large companies and SMEs, to identify those of their employees who have the ability to adapt and to recruit complementary profiles. Her hobbyhorse? To "transform the governance" of the groups that call on her services.
Blandine Cordier-Palasse holds a doctorate in law and was a lawyer before becoming a legal director and board secretary for major groups. She is currently co-founder and vice-president of the Cercle de la Compliance. She has been head of BCP Executive Search since 2010. This is a human strategy and recruitment consultancy specialising in legal affairs, compliance, risk and governance. So this tough woman knows the legal profession inside out. She is also familiar with the complexities of compliance and corporate culture.
A DEMAND FOR COMPLIANCE EXPERTS AND PROJECT MANAGERS
"Blandine Cordier-Palasse notes: "Today, groups need new areas of expertise, such as ethics and compliance directors, data privacy officers (DPOs), governance managers, CSR managers, export control officers, project managers, etc., in order to increase the protection of their strategy and ensure that the behaviour of the company, its directors and employees complies with the legal and ethical standards applicable to them.
Companies have also realised that compliance is no longer an option. It has become a strategic, credibility, geopolitical and security issue. International regulations, including the RGPD (European General Data Protection Regulation), the Sapin 2 law, which has increased the duty of vigilance, and the lawsuits against giants such as Facebook, embody the new challenges and the challenges ahead.
associated risks.
The role of compliance director is growing. Not only in regulated sectors, but also in more mature groups. In the latter, the legal and compliance functions are increasingly separated. A legal director can become a compliance officer, but so can someone from audit, risk management, purchasing or sales. We therefore recruit a wide range of complementary profiles to form strong teams.
IMMERSION
She also carries out organisational assignments for legal departments. In order to find the right profiles within companies to exercise these new skills, the expert conducts internal audits. Her method is meticulous, a true 360-degree investigation. Testimonies are collected from all the parties involved - members of management and operational staff in contact with the legal team - in order to understand both the perception that the lawyer has of his or her own work. The views of the teams with which they work are also gathered.
This is how the auditor meets the lawyers in individual interviews lasting an average of two hours. Sometimes lawyers show resistance, a certain fear of the unknown," she explains. But as the discussion progresses, they realise that it allows them to say what works and what doesn't, and to point out how they can evolve. And to add: "These audits can reveal the skills or potential of lawyers who were thought to be limited, but who suddenly find themselves energised.
SKILLS THRESHOLD OR ADAPTATION POTENTIAL
At the end of this work, the findings are often unequivocal. A number of lawyers were interviewed. They show an ability to adapt to new challenges, modern working methods and advanced technologies. Others are no longer up to the company's or the market's expectations," explains the recruiter. Some lawyers or legal directors have actually reached their competency threshold".she finally confides.
They no longer meet the Group's needs. They are being repositioned, either within their department or in other structures. "If lawyers don't see the changes taking place in their jobs, they either move down the career ladder or move to other groups," warns the headhunter. In which groups? Those where the environment is more suited to them and where they still have a legitimate place. "This work is satisfying for everyone, and it gives a real dynamic back to the lawyers and the company! It's a win-win situation.she adds.
STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL
To adapt, legal professionals need to understand the world in which they operate and be open to other skills and positions. "You have to take an interest in everything that's going on: business, strategy, high tech, new technologies, etc.".. She completes. "A lawyer needs to get out of his jargon, align himself with the company's strategy and use the language of business. By adapting, he or she will emerge from the shadows and become an operational player among the operational players. Today's challenge is for innovation and agility to take precedence in a world that is increasingly standardised and regulated. This is a tremendous opportunity for the legal and compliance professions.. The aim is to support these transformations and be a strategic lever for the company's performance and competitiveness.
So there's no secret, "we need to move up a gear".adds Blandine Cordier-Palasse. In particular, "it is in the interest of lawyers to develop their visibility internally and on networks. The aim is to show, like the CFO or HR Director before them, that these functions have become strategic and operational".concludes the hunter. Social networks are a vital source of information. Certain work groups, particularly on LinkedIn, interact and publish links or information. They enable lawyers and compliance officers to step outside their area of expertise and develop the image of their profession. The scope of their work, their appetite for risk, their attitude and the culture of law and compliance in France will all be redefined as a result.
"Lawyers are increasingly meeting the market's expectations".
Blandine CORDIER-PALASSE
