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International In-house Counsel Journal logoInternational In-house Counsel Journal logo

A View From the Coal-Face: Corporate Governance Issues in Charging Out and Incentivising In-House Counsel

Abstract

Information on a company’s costs and risks is crucial to the individuals responsible for the management of the organisation. The in-house legal function has an obvious role to play in dealing with the legal – statutory and regulatory – risks. Less obvious is management’s ability to leverage in-house counsel’s involvement in the day-to-day operation of the organisation in order to obtain important information on the company’s business (commercial or enterprise) risks. This article considers two scenarios where organisational decisions regarding the in-house lawyer’s internal charge-out or remuneration can support or hinder the company’s business risk management. The two scenarios apply particularly with organisations that frequently submit tender offers or proposals in a competitive situation.

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Author

Portrait image of Jürg Gassmann
Jürg Gassmann
Principal, Gassmann Consulting., Ireland

Dr. Jürg Gassmann is an independent practitioner based in Switzerland. Since 2002, he has been acting as ‘outside in-house counsel’ for developers and investors where the business volume does not justify a senior lawyer on staff. He specialises in electricity generation (both renewable and traditional), resource valorisation, water/wastewater and similar infrastructure projects as well as advising venture capital investors. Before establishing his own practice, he was Of Counsel with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London; in an in-house legal role with Black & Veatch in Hong Kong and Kansas City; with a Swiss venture capital investor in Zurich; and with The Sumitomo Trust & Banking in Tokyo. Jürg took his licentiatus iuris at the University of Zurich in 1986 as well as his doctorate in law in 1989, following a research fellowship at the University of Tokyo. He is qualified as a Swiss Rechtsanwalt and as an English solicitor (not practicing), and speaks German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, and some Urdu. He was an infantry officer in the Swiss Army and spends his leisure time with his family, historical fencing and researching history.

Company

Gassmann Consulting.

Jurg acts as "outside-in-house counsel" for investors with complex international infrastructure projects, where the project volume does not justify the cost of a senior lawyer on staff. This approach allows clients to benefit from affordable forward-looking expert advice from the project's early development stages until financing. He is also advising Envisionation, a consultancy specialising in climate change issues and sustainability projects.

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