Worldwide: 2024 Global In-House Counsel Report: Unique Insights into the Global In-House Profession from ICW
As the effects of troubling regional conflicts and political turmoil reverberate through the world’s economies, In-House Counsel Worldwide & Mondaq’s 2024 Global In-House Counsel Report seeks to reveal the challenges, issues and priorities facing global in-house legal teams worldwide.
We are delighted to launch the inaugural 2024 Global In-House Counsel Survey Report. With almost 400 global in-house counsel respondents from over 60 countries, the report provides unique insight into the current state of global legal departments and their direction of travel for the coming year – as well as insights into the global in-house profession today.
Some key findings from the 2024 report:
- Demand for in-house services looks set to rise significantly, with 72% of global in-house departments expecting an increase in Risk & Compliance demand, 62% in Data Privacy; 57% in Contract Management and 41% in Business Strategy & Advice.
- There is a strong emphasis on supporting business growth, with risk management and compliance responsibilities also prominent; In-house counsel are carrying a significant breadth of accountabilities beyond their legal remit. These include compliance (74% of in-house counsel also accountable), ethics (41%) and company secretarial (38%) and investigations (33%)
- The increasing levels of demand for in-house service and accountabilities raise the prospect of a potential employee wellbeing and mental health crisis looming, with over 54% seeing an increase in work-related stress and anxiety and just 11% a decrease, coupled with limited evidence of companies recognizing the emerging need to prioritize employee support and wellbeing within legal departments
- Hybrid working models now seem well-established with over 70% of counsel able to access a mix of office and home or remote working arrangements. However, there are stark differences regionally, with 81% of counsel in Europe and 74% in North America offered hybrid, compared to just 32% in the Middle East & Africa
- Companies also expect to increase their spending on outside counsel – from the buy-side there is almost universal consensus that practical advice, legal expertise and understanding of the buyer’s business are the most important factors – far more so than the existence of senior-level relationships
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