The law always has a great influence on the operation and development of each business. Therefore, any large or small organization pays rapt attention to the law. And the person responsible for the legal affairs in an organization is the Chief Legal Officer.
So, who is " Chief Legal Officer"? What are their missions? The answer will be found in the following article of Navigos Search
1. Who is Chief Legal Officer?
The Chief Legal Officer (CLO) is the person who oversees all legal aspects in the operation of an organization or business. They are responsible for helping businesses minimize legal risks by providing advice on legal affairs. The Chief Legal Officer (CLO) usually reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
CLO is the person who oversees all legal aspects in the operation of an organization
2. Main duties of a CLO
So, what are the duties of the Chief Legal Officer in businesses? Check out the main ideas below.
Operating and managing the Legal department
The Chief Legal Officer is the highest-ranking role related to the legal affairs of a business. They are responsible for operating and managing legal activities to ensure the goals, strategies and priorities of businesses.
This position leads the entire Legal department, specializing in handling legal affairs in a business.
Developing legal strategy
The next duty of the Chief Legal Officer is to develop and come up with a legal strategy to promote and protect the business’s matters.
In addition, the Chief Legal Officer must always update information about new laws and policies to apply to the business activities. This requires them to pay close attention to news, seminars and related publications, especially in the areas in which they are involved. There are many Chief Legal Officers who have their own network to share and update information at the first opportunity.
Moreover, the Chief Legal Officer is involved in the process of decision-making and drafting legislation. They may not be the ones who make the laws or strategies in the business, but they are the final reviewers.
Providing legal advice & consultancy
In the past, the position of Chief Legal Officer in a business often handled administrative matters, while freelance lawyers often handled more complex legal affairs. Now, however, it has completely changed. This position has become increasingly prominent in multinational corporations. They are the ones who give advice, directly provide legal consultancy to the board (CEO, Business owner, Chairman, senior manager,...) instead of outsourcing lawyers.
The Chief Legal Officer is also involved in public policy advocacy, tax practices, mergers and acquisitions, labor law, and intellectual property. Contractual issues of the business are also brought to consult with the Chief Legal Officer. In this role, a Chief Legal Officer must have in-depth knowledge of the law and extensive experience in problem solving.
Main duties of a Chief Legal Officer
Being responsible for legal affairs
The Chief Legal Officer is responsible for overseeing, administering and identifying legal issues that occur in every department of the business. It helps provide timely action to prevent legal risks a business might encounter.
Furthermore, they are responsible for maintaining proper interactions with local government, the legislature, and the community.
When a business faces a legal problem or a lawsuit, the Chief Legal Officer is the person who directly represents the legal team or to choose an appropriate lawyer to handle the problem.
3. Career path for CLO position
It will take a great amount of time to become a Chief Legal Officer. You must have a great deal of professional knowledge and practical experience. However, specific requirements will vary according to the field you are applying for or depending on the size of the business. Most Chief Legal Officers have previously worked in related fields, so employers often require candidates to have a certain number of years of work experience.
If you are interested in the position of Chief Legal Officer, it is important that you find out information about the role, duties, salary, benefits and job requirements. While job descriptions will vary from company to company, it's crucial to have a basic understanding of the steps needed to go further into this career.
Career path for CLO position
4. Education Requirements for Chief Legal Officer
Chief Legal Officers usually graduate from law schools. You must have in-depth industry legal knowledge such as: Intellectual property law, Business management, Finance,... You will need to participate in a number of courses such as Cyber law, International law, Public speaking, Symbolic logic,...
5. Chief Legal Officer job opportunities
Many businesses require candidates to have many years of experience working in lower or equivalent positions before becoming a Chief Legal Officer. Besides, this position also requires some other skills such as leadership and organization. You have to be mentally prepared that it takes many years of hard work for a new career opportunity to come to you.
This senior position career opportunity often opens in large enterprises, multinational corporations - where the business is large, so an experienced Chief Legal Officer is needed to solve complex matters and carefully examined billion-dollar deals.
CLO job opportunities
Above is the complete set of information about the Chief Legal Officer. We hope you’ve had some understanding of what a Chief Legal Officer is as well as the career opportunities of this position. To find a business that offers the position of Chief Legal Officer, you can contact Navigos Search using the information below.
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