Something that’s been taken for granted is that legal, and by extension, the GC, should report to the CEO of the organization. And that makes sense, as having the GC report to the CEO often aligns the GC closely with the strategic direction of the company, ensuring that legal considerations are integral to top-level decision-making. However, as detailed in Alex Su’s recent LinkedIn post on the topic, in many organizations, legal does not report into the CEO and instead reports into the CFO (i.e. finance) or COO (i.e. operations).
Alex’s post inspired vigorous debate and raised the question, does such a reporting structure undermine legal, or does it make sense in certain circumstances?
Tune in for the next edition of our IHC Resource Management Series as Mark Kahn, Meg Kammerud, Eleanor Lacey, and Akshay Verma host a fun and lively discussion, sharing insights from their own careers while debating the pros and cons of each reporting structure.
Discussion topics include:
- When does it make sense for the GC to report to someone other than the CEO?
- When does it not make sense?
- What are the downsides of the GC not reporting to the CEO? And what are the impacts on the other members of Legal?
- If Legal does report to the CFO, how does Legal stay relevant and protect the organization when push comes to shove?
Who should watch
All in-house legal professionals who are looking to enhance their strategic impact within their organizations.
