Intra-Group Communications: An Avenue to More Efficient Legal Risk Management

Michael Ristaniemi, Legal Counsel, Metsä Group

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the possibilities for in-house counsel to help maximize their efficiency and presence by adding emphasis on communication within their company. Essentially the underlying idea is raising awareness and providing employees with tools and information that reduce the need for very basic legal advice. This topic is – in our view – highly underrated by many counsel. In-house counsel have vast possibilities to increase their presence and ability to add value without being overtly intrusive. This can be done in particular by using a number of various digital tools commonplace in today’s corporate world, but also by more traditional means of communication. Getting the job done as a legal function often means supporting corporate personnel on nearly every level of an organization. However, considering the limitations in legal department personnel, prioritizing is often a necessity – this creates a need for other ways of providing support. After discussing the possibilities an increased focus on communication bring, this paper will outline some best practices in organizational communication in general and examine practical examples of how they can be implemented in ways useful for a legal function. It should prove an interesting read for in-house counsel who are interested in ideas about being more proactive towards their internal clients.