SurveyMonkey Powered Online Survey

Each year Canadian Lawyer surveys in-house, government, and corporate counsel about the operation of their legal department. This year we are focusing on certain aspects of the relationship between corporate counsel and external law firms and service providers. The results of the survey will be tabulated and presented in InHouse magazine in early 2021, and are often cited at various legal seminars throughout the year.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the following survey. The questions marked with an * are mandatory. Tell us what you think and enter for a chance to win a $200 Amazon gift card.

Thank you for taking the time to participate

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* 1. What is your occupation?

Lawyer in a firm

In-House Lawyer

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* Other – Lawyer

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* Other – Non Lawyer

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* 2. Thinking about 2021, do you expect the size of your department to ….

Grow significantly

Grow somewhat

Replace vacancies only

Shrink

No change

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* 3. What are the challenges you are experiencing as an in house lawyer in the current market? Please select all that apply.

Volume of work

Spontaneity of requests

Issues that are outside area of expertise

Lack of adequate legal technology

Cost pressures on in-house legal departments

Expansion into new markets and segments

More complex regulation

Stricter enforcement of regulations

Staying current with industry knowledge

Staying connected to colleagues while working remotely

Other write in

None of these

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* 4. Approximately what was the external legal spend for the Canadian legal department in your last fiscal year?

$100,000 or less

$101,000-$500,000

$501,000-$1 million

$1 million to $3 million

$3.1 million to $5 million

$5.1 million to $10 million

More than $10 million

Prefer not to answer/Don't know

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* 5. Compared to the prior year was your external legal spend this year…

Higher

Lower

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* Higher by what percent %

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* Lower by what percent %

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* 6. If external spend changed, why? What are the key reasons for the change in spending vs last year?

Issues around the pandemic

Sending more work out

The business grew

Bringing more work into the legal department

Isolated/one-off situation which led to higher fees

Other

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* 7. Does the general counsel have the autonomy to select firms?

Yes, the general counsel/legal department makes the selection

It is a shared decision with executive management/board

It is a shared decision with the procurement department/process

No, the general counsel isn’t involved in the selection process

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* 8. How many law firms are you using?

1 or 2

3 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 15

15+

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* 9. How many firms received the top 80 per cent of your Canadian legal department’s legal spend?

1 or 2

3 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 15

15+

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* 10. Are you considering consolidating the number of law firms you use?

Yes, definitely

Possibly

No, not at all

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* 11. Do you generally outsource…

	Always	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
Expertise that we don’t have in house	Expertise that we don’t have in house Always	Expertise that we don’t have in house Sometimes	Expertise that we don’t have in house Rarely	Expertise that we don’t have in house Never
Volume of work	Volume of work Always	Volume of work Sometimes	Volume of work Rarely	Volume of work Never
Grind work, i.e. repetitive tasks	Grind work, i.e. repetitive tasks Always	Grind work, i.e. repetitive tasks Sometimes	Grind work, i.e. repetitive tasks Rarely	Grind work, i.e. repetitive tasks Never
Creative outside the box thinking	Creative outside the box thinking Always	Creative outside the box thinking Sometimes	Creative outside the box thinking Rarely	Creative outside the box thinking Never

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* 12. What are the legal areas you send to outside firms the most? (Select all that apply)

Advertising/marketing

Class action

Employment/labour

Environmental

General corporate work (contracts, etc.)

Immigration

Intellectual property

Information technology (contracts, licensing etc.)

Litigation

Mergers & acquisitions

Privacy legislation and data protection

Real estate

Regulatory matters

Risk mitigation

Securities/corporate finance

Tax

U.S.-cross border

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Which are your ‘go to’ law firms for work?

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Gowling WLG

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Miller Thomson LLP

Dentons Canada LLP

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Bennett Jones LLP

Torys LLP

McMillan LLP

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

DLA Piper (Canada) LLP

MLT Aikins LLP

Stewart McKelvey

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Cain Lamarre

Cox & Palmer

Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P.

McInnes Cooper

Aird & Berlis LLP

Goodmans LLP

BCF Business Law

Lawson Lundell LLP

Langlois lawyers, LLP

Field Law

Lerners LLP

Blaney McMurtry LLP

Other (please specify)

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* 14. Which law firm from the list above do you outsource to the most?

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Gowling WLG

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Miller Thomson LLP

Dentons Canada LLP

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Bennett Jones LLP

Torys LLP

McMillan LLP

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

DLA Piper (Canada) LLP

MLT Aikins LLP

Stewart McKelvey

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Cain Lamarre

Cox & Palmer

Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P.

McInnes Cooper

Aird & Berlis LLP

Goodmans LLP

BCF Business Law

Lawson Lundell LLP

Langlois lawyers, LLP

Field Law

Lerners LLP

Blaney McMurtry LLP

Other (please specify)

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* 15. How important to you are the following attributes in a law firm, where 1 is not at all important and 5 is extremely important?

	1	2	3	4	5
Relatively low cost	Relatively low cost 1	Relatively low cost 2	Relatively low cost 3	Relatively low cost 4	Relatively low cost 5
Creative legal solutions	Creative legal solutions 1	Creative legal solutions 2	Creative legal solutions 3	Creative legal solutions 4	Creative legal solutions 5
Practical approach	Practical approach 1	Practical approach 2	Practical approach 3	Practical approach 4	Practical approach 5
Good understanding of our business	Good understanding of our business 1	Good understanding of our business 2	Good understanding of our business 3	Good understanding of our business 4	Good understanding of our business 5
Pro-active in suggesting solutions	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 1	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 2	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 3	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 4	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 5
Regular communication	Regular communication 1	Regular communication 2	Regular communication 3	Regular communication 4	Regular communication 5
Diversity	Diversity 1	Diversity 2	Diversity 3	Diversity 4	Diversity 5

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* 16. Would you say you are more loyal to…

A firm

The lawyer in the firm

Neither of these

Other (please specify)

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* 17. Thinking of the firm that you outsource to the most, how well are they performing in the following attributes where 1 is not at all well, and 5 is extremely well

	1	2	3	4	5
Are relatively low cost	Are relatively low cost 1	Are relatively low cost 2	Are relatively low cost 3	Are relatively low cost 4	Are relatively low cost 5
Offer creative legal solutions	Offer creative legal solutions 1	Offer creative legal solutions 2	Offer creative legal solutions 3	Offer creative legal solutions 4	Offer creative legal solutions 5
Have a practical approach	Have a practical approach 1	Have a practical approach 2	Have a practical approach 3	Have a practical approach 4	Have a practical approach 5
Good understanding of your business	Good understanding of your business 1	Good understanding of your business 2	Good understanding of your business 3	Good understanding of your business 4	Good understanding of your business 5
Pro-active in suggesting solutions	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 1	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 2	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 3	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 4	Pro-active in suggesting solutions 5
Regular communication	Regular communication 1	Regular communication 2	Regular communication 3	Regular communication 4	Regular communication 5
Diversity	Diversity 1	Diversity 2	Diversity 3	Diversity 4	Diversity 5
Other (please specify)	Other (please specify) 1	Other (please specify) 2	Other (please specify) 3	Other (please specify) 4	Other (please specify) 5

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* 18. Please rate the following

	Agree completely	Agree somewhat	Disagree somewhat	Disagree completely
I am stretched too thinly at work	I am stretched too thinly at work Agree completely	I am stretched too thinly at work Agree somewhat	I am stretched too thinly at work Disagree somewhat	I am stretched too thinly at work Disagree completely
I work more hours than I would like to	I work more hours than I would like to Agree completely	I work more hours than I would like to Agree somewhat	I work more hours than I would like to Disagree somewhat	I work more hours than I would like to Disagree completely
I am expected to be available 24/7	I am expected to be available 24/7 Agree completely	I am expected to be available 24/7 Agree somewhat	I am expected to be available 24/7 Disagree somewhat	I am expected to be available 24/7 Disagree completely
I work directly with our CEO, at least sometimes	I work directly with our CEO, at least sometimes Agree completely	I work directly with our CEO, at least sometimes Agree somewhat	I work directly with our CEO, at least sometimes Disagree somewhat	I work directly with our CEO, at least sometimes Disagree completely

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* 19. What sector is your company/organization in?

Government (municipal, regional, provincial, federal, and First Nations – including boards and tribunals)

Professional services

Financial

Industry/manufacturing (including life sciences, food production and automotive)

Natural resources-based (including energy)

Service and/or retail

Technology

Non-profit or academic institution

Other (please specify)

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* 20. How many lawyers are there in your legal department?

Just me

2 to 5

6 to 15

16 to 30

31 to 50

51 to 100

more than 100

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* 21. What is the average (actual) work week for members of your department?

35-45 hours

46–50 hours

51–55 hours

56+ hours

Don't know

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* 22. How many employees work at your organization in Canada?

Less than 50

50-249

250-499

500-999

1,000-4,999

5,000 or more

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* 23. Are you...

Male

Female

Prefer not to say

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* 24. What was your total compensation for 2019?

Less than $100,000

$100,000 to less than $250,000

$250,000 to less than $500,000

$500,000 or more

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* 25. Please indicate your age group

Under 29

30 to 45

46 to 60

61 and over

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* 26. Would you be willing to be interviewed by a journalist to provide quotes for a story analyzing these results or for another story in Canadian Lawyer InHouse? If yes, please include your contact information.

Name:

Email Address:

Phone Number:

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* 27. If you wish to enter the draw for a $200 Amazon gift card, please provide us with your name, your email address and a phone number where we can reach you if you win.

Name

Email Address

Phone Number