As part of the executive leadership team, you may be considering whether your organisation needs a general counsel to advise on legal matters, particularly during the planning stages of a new law or project. You might also be wondering if having in-house counsel could make it easier to achieve the ESG certifications your APAC board of directors values.
Your board likely already retains a law firm or legal team to draft contracts and handle legal documentation. So, do you really need a full-time lawyer on staff? To make that call, you’ll need to assess the benefits of employing a dedicated legal counsel available to your board, and whether you have enough ongoing work to justify the role.
What Is a General Counsel?
A general counsel is a lawyer employed by a corporation, council, or organisation to manage its ongoing legal affairs. They handle the organisation’s routine legal work and usually report directly to the CEO, board of directors, or an equivalent executive body. Their responsibilities often include:
- Identifying and mitigating legal risks
- Ensuring regulatory compliance
- Providing legal guidance on business strategy
- Managing legal staff and external counsel.
The comprehensive blueprint for selecting a results-driven board management vendor.
Benefits of a General Counsel
Your general counsel can support ESG reporting, but the advantages go far beyond that. Here are several key benefits you can expect:
Strong Corporate Governance
A general counsel strengthens your organisation’s governance framework. Strong governance not only attracts investors but also improves your eligibility for ESG funds to support growth and expansion. They help the board ensure strategic plans meet legal and ethical standards, while minimising legal risks across all areas of operation. With in-house legal expertise, you’ll receive timely advice without waiting for external counsel to return your call.
Navigating Diverse Legal & Regulatory Environments
For APAC boards, maintaining legal compliance across multiple jurisdictions can be complex. A general counsel helps you stay aligned with varying regulatory requirements by reviewing policies, answering compliance questions, and advising on legal considerations during board decisions. Their proactive guidance can prevent costly lawsuits, regulatory censure, or fines, protecting both your reputation and bottom line.
Risk Management and Crisis Preparedness
While security teams protect your physical assets, your general counsel safeguards intangible ones, such as intellectual property, trademarks, and trade secrets. In the event of a legal or reputational crisis, they act swiftly to protect your organisation’s interests and guide the resolution process. They also help your board identify and mitigate potential legal risks before they escalate.
Strategic & Transactional Support
Board members spend significant time shaping strategies to increase profitability and manage costs. A general counsel ensures those strategies comply with legal and ethical standards. Their detailed knowledge of your organisation positions them to provide valuable transactional support, from negotiating deals to drafting contracts. Their expertise ensures every decision and document stands up to legal scrutiny.
Shareholder & Stakeholder Engagement
A general counsel enhances communication with shareholders and stakeholders by understanding what information can be lawfully shared. With a deep grasp of your organisation’s operations and priorities, they can respond directly to stakeholder concerns and alert the board to any activism that may threaten existing strategies. Their involvement builds transparency and trust across all relationships.
Enhancing Board Effectiveness
Having a general counsel improves your board’s overall effectiveness. Before voting or advancing new strategies, your counsel can flag legal grey areas and recommend ways to mitigate potential risks. Their presence signals integrity and strengthens trust in your governance practices. They can also assist with director recruitment, onboarding, and succession planning.
How General Counsel Can Utilise Board Software
Board management software provides several benefits to the general council . When it’s time to complete ESG courses or prepare reports, the software provides a clear, traceable audit trail. Because all materials are stored in one secure location, it also simplifies data collection for ESG reporting.
In addition, general counsel can review automated meeting minutes to confirm that votes, motions, and other board actions were handled lawfully and transparently.
OnBoard Powers Effective Boards in APAC
A general counsel serves as the organisation’s chief in-house lawyer, reporting directly to the CEO or board administrators. They manage day-to-day legal matters by overseeing ESG reporting, evaluating legal risks, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. Having a dedicated general counsel also strengthens crisis preparedness, supports sound governance, and enhances engagement with key stakeholders.
At OnBoard, we’re committed to helping APAC boards operate more efficiently. Our board management platform automates administrative tasks, saving you valuable time and resources.
Key OnBoard features include:
- Agenda Builder
- Secure Document Sharing
- Minutes AI
- Voting & Approvals
- Meeting Analytics
OnBoard AI is an intelligent governance assistant built into the OnBoard board management platform. It helps boards work more efficiently by automating tasks like drafting meeting minutes, summarising discussions, generating agendas, and analysing board materials. Using secure, context-aware AI, it delivers quick insights while maintaining data privacy and compliance
Request a trial today and see how OnBoard can empower your board to work more effectively and confidently.
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