Why Legal Department Mission Statements Are Mission Critical During the Great ‘Reflection’; Law.com, January 25, 2022

Catherine Kemnitz, Law.com; Why Legal Department Mission Statements Are Mission Critical During the Great ‘Reflection’

It’s been termed the Great Resignation but as a colleague of mine likes to say, it should really be called the Great Reflection. We’re not seeing lawyers question whether they should be practicing law, but rather reflecting on how, why, and for whom they practice it.

"So when Axiom, in collaboration with Wakefield Research, conducted a survey of 220 legal department heads at companies with $250 million or more in annual revenue we aimed to dive deeper into more unusual, but critically important terrain. We focused on examining how COVID impacted GCs and the legal teams trying to reconcile changing business demands with the values of their departments and broader organizations.

What we found underscored the importance of values to the in-house team and the critical role GCs play in developing those values, articulating them, and leading organizational adherence to them.

Here’s the headline: 85% of GCs surveyed believe that the legal department has a responsibility to be the primary driver of company values. Those values vary by organization but typically include complying with relevant laws and regulations; an emphasis on social responsibility and human interests; promoting diversity and inclusion; addressing social, environmental and human rights concerns; and importantly, the development, retention, and well-being of the legal team...

Actioning Department Values 

What we found is that adherence to values isn’t just talk, it’s action...

Mission Statements: The Haves and Have Nots

A mission statement is a promise between a company, the legal department, and its lawyers to follow a core set of values. Even more than other departmental mission statements, legal department versions are enterprise-critical. Many, if not all, of the company’s hard choices will hit the legal department. As a result, a values-based approach within legal will inherently permeate throughout the rest of the enterprise.

In addition to its impact on the broader organization, the legal mission statement is becoming increasingly important to the lawyers who are part of the in-house team. Employees’ priorities and goals have evolved into something substantively different from their pre-pandemic aspirations. Like other workers, lawyers are rejecting workplaces, practices, and remuneration that don’t align with their personal goals. They’re also rejecting employers that don’t have a greater missional focus, or if they do, lack a fundamental adherence to it. Lawyers will no longer settle for soulless roles, and will no longer practice on behalf of soulless organizations.

As a result, our survey found that articulating and reaffirming a commitment to both departmental and organizational goals is increasingly imperative to legal team satisfaction, retention, and performance.  Despite the importance, however, a full 40% of GCs admit they lack formal legal department mission statements.

Put simply, that’s a mistake. Not only does our survey demonstrate that GCs with mission statements are better positioned to navigate volatility, it makes clear that these statements are a critical tools for retaining and nurturing the type of legal talent needed to effectively serve the organization.

The Bottom Line for GCs

Legal department mission statements are mission critical.

GCs that don’t have them must develop them. GCs that do, must consistently revisit them."