The 2018 version of this important annual report from the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) provides valuable information for the general counsel, particularly in terms of advising senior leadership as to the evolving focus of the legal department.

Perhaps one of the most significant observations of the 2018 report is its conclusion that "[T]he most critical issues facing companies today are legal issues". For this reason, ACC suggests that the "Age of the Chief Legal Officer" has begun—making it essential, in ACC's view, that the general counsel/chief legal officer (CLO) "be at the executive table, in the boardroom and reporting to the CEO." In that manner, much of the report focuses on the general counsel/CLO's role as "a contributor to preventing problems and proactively addressing legal and regulatory risks to the company."

The key issues identified by ACC as "keeping CLOs up at night" include: (i) regulatory or government changes (including but not limited to the potential for new regulations affecting data and information privacy); (ii) data breaches and the threat of cyberattacks; (iii) similarly, matters of information privacy (e.g., data and information how best to handle cybersecurity); (iv) technology developments; and (v) ethics and bribery matters.

Among the interesting statistics contained in the report are that 64 percent of the respondent CLOs report directly to the CEO (and of that 64 percent, 61 percent are involved with the CEO, the executive leadership team and the board of directors on strategic initiatives).

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