Hi there,
One of the most significant challenges facing today’s GCs, along with managing their portfolio of known risks, is being prepared for the unexpected.
Like cybersecurity threats, pandemics, climate events, or the next “Gen AI” type of development.
As Inderpreet Sawhney, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Infosys, recently explained to me on the Innovative Legal Leadership Podcast:
"There’s no rulebook that’s written on a lot of issues that we are facing today, like Generative AI.
"How are you going to help navigate your business through that crisis?"
I believe that the answer to these challenges will increasingly hinge on in-house teams’ ability to strengthen their partnerships with outside firms in both anticipating and responding to these unexpected events.
Mass arbitrations are a great example of how this can work.
As our Senior Legal Advisory Manager, Maui Gevero, explains in our latest resource, mass arbitrations are a known but often overlooked sleeping giant in many company’s risk portfolios.
In these situations, a niche firm or legal services startup identifies companies with mandatory arbitration and pre-agreed arbitration fees in their consumer complaint clause. They then gather together thousands of consumer complainants in an attempt to strong-arm a hefty settlement.
In some cases, arbitrator fees alone have amassed into the tens of millions of $$$. 😳
Larger companies with bigger departments might be able to handle a mass arbitration event internally.
But should they?
Firms who’ve managed these matters for other clients bring experience, acuity, and perspective to the fight.
They know what strategies work. How other in-house teams have resourced themselves to handle these types of matters. And are ultimately able to bring the matter to resolution more quickly and effectively than without their outside help.
Running a competitive RFP before an event arises is also a great way to assess which firms have the right experience, along with understanding and evaluating the variety of approaches and potential costs you might face in responding to a potential crisis.
Like one of our clients who used PERSUIT to identify several firms with experience in mass arbitrations.
Receiving a value-based pricing structure from these firms allowed them to effectively budget and allocate resources for this work. (Here are some of the many other types of matters our clients are also competitively tendering on PERSUIT).
Pandemics, AI, cyberthreats…the next unexpected is inevitably around the corner.
GCs, what’s your playbook?
Do you have a response plan and process around future crisis events?
Are you leveraging your firm relationships to help you more effectively prepare?
Cheers,
Jim
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