Assessing the Importance and Maturity of Activities That Support Seven Legal Department Objectives:

■ Define Legal Work and Strategy

■ Promote Corporate Compliance and Ethics

■ Support Business Goals

■ Ensure Regulatory Compliance

■ Protect Company Information

■ Maintain Corporate Governance

■ Manage the Function

The Path to Effective Legal Performance

The Legal Functional Maturity Diagnostic

CEB Legal Leadership Council

2

Seventy-seven percent of general counsel want to spend more time executing the legal strategies that support the business, but a majority struggle to break free of reactive, day-to-day business requests.

Most general counsel want to transform their departments and contribute to business growth, but the average legal department expects less than a 3% budget increase for 2015, lagging behind the pace of most companies’ growth.

It’s hard to do more with less, especially without a clear action plan to help the department identify and execute on the trade-offs it must make to best support department goals.

General Counsel Preferred Time Allocation Select Responses

Prioritize performance improvements that deliver the largest returns.

n = 114.Source: CEB 2014 Legal Budget Diagnostic Survey.

77%

46%

(28%)

(66%)

Spend Less Time Spend More Time

Execute Legal Strategy to Support Business Growth

Respond to Business Requests for Legal Advice and Guidance

Advise Senior Management and the Board

Review and Manage Contracts

© 2015 CEB. All rights reserved. GCR1941015SYN

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How We Can Help

Prioritize areas for improvement, and develop an action plan.

© 2015 CEB. All rights reserved. GCR1941015SYN

Diagnostic OverviewOur Legal Functional Maturity Diagnostic measures performance across seven objectives and 36 discrete activities. Use it to:

■ Understand critical maturity gaps, ■ Prioritize areas for improvement, and ■ Create action plans to reach desired maturity.

How We Measure MaturityWe apply our unique, direct insight on companies’ strategies, tactics, and actions to ground our maturity measurements in actual practice. This evidence-based approach enables us to provide prescriptive guidance to help you reach the next level of maturity and create an actionable vision for maturity progression.

Participation Details ■ Participants: The general counsel, with the option to include members of the legal team

■ Time Commitment: One hour

Sample Report Excerpts

Clear Steps to Improve the Maturity

of Priority Areas

CEB Path to MaturityManage Contract Risks, Excerpt

Level 5

Ensure cross-functional

administration of contracts,

managed at the business level.

Level 4

Train business clients to defend standard clause language and

provide approved alternatives.

Level 3

Develop templates for the most commonly

used agreements.

Define criteria that focus legal

resources on higher-risk,

higher-value agreements.

Level 2

Draft a policy outlining which

agreements require legal

review.

Define accountability for contract storage and

administration.

Level 1Manage contracts for the business

as needed.

Commence to AchieveNext Level of Maturity

Currently Practiced

Not Currently Practiced

4© 2015 CEB. All rights reserved. GCR1941015SYN

Build a Compliance and Ethics Program

Oversee Allegations and Investigations

Deploy Training and Communications

Monitor Program Performance

Manage Third- Party Risk

Promote Corporate Compliance and Ethics

Our Legal Functional Activity Map

Select Outside Counsel

Manage Outside Counsel

Manage Litigation

Manage Legal Talent

Manage Legal Technology

Manage Legal Budget

Manage the Function

See page 5 for more details.

Support Business Goals

Manage Contract Risks

Advise IP Strategy

Advise Product Development

Advise Marketing and Communications

Advise Sales and After-Sales Support

Advise M&A and Transactions

Comply with Core Regulations

Communicate Regulatory Issues

Manage Government Relations

Advise Labor and Employment Issues

Comply with Tax Regulations

Ensure Regulatory Compliance

Classify Information

Manage Company Information

Ensure Appropriate Retention

Manage Privacy Risk

Protect Company Information

Advise the Board

Support Board Processes and Oversight

Monitor Governance Practices

Oversee Securities and Filings

Maintain Corporate Governance

Define Legal Work and Strategy

Assess Legal and Regulatory Risks

Determine Legal Risk Tolerance

Set Functional Strategy

Set Legal Resourcing Strategy

Partner with Business Clients

Measure Department Performance

The map below comprehensively represents the scope of the activities for the typical legal function.

5

Level

1

Level

3

Level

2

Level

4

Level

5

Maturity Level

Legal improves staff development and engagement, creating career paths that build on Legal’s strategic plan and the evolving needs of the business.

Legal focuses staff performance and development on delivering against immediate job needs and static job descriptions.

Legal sources and grooms high-potential talent and creates succession plans to sustain an appropriate skill mix and effective business support.

Legal formally identifies individual and department-wide gaps to prioritize technical skill development and cultivate effective business partnership skills.

Legal focuses staff performance and development on tailored, role-specific competencies.

Path to Maturity Resource Guide

Select Outside Counsel

Manage Outside Counsel

Manage Litigation

Manage Legal Talent

Manage Legal Technology

Manage Legal Budget

Manage the Function

Manage Legal TalentExcerpt

© 2015 CEB. All rights reserved. GCR1941015SYN

6© 2015 CEB. All rights reserved. GCR1941015SYN

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property

These materials have been prepared by CEB for the exclusive and individual use of our member companies. These materials contain valuable confidential and proprietary information belonging to CEB, and they may not be shared with any third party (including independent contractors and consultants) without the prior approval of CEB. CEB retains any and all intellectual property rights in these materials and requires retention of the copyright mark on all pages reproduced.

Legal Caveat

CEB is not able to guarantee the accuracy of the information or analysis contained in these materials. Furthermore, CEB is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or any other professional services. CEB specifically disclaims liability for any damages, claims, or losses that may arise from a) any errors or omissions in these materials, whether caused by CEB or its sources, or b) reliance upon any recommendation made by CEB.

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