It’s hard to miss the headlines about recent major internal investigations that organizations have essentially been forced to undertake. From the National Football League’s DeflateGate, to major colleges, to General Motors, and (many) more, notable high-profile scandals have resulted in an influx of work for investigatory lawyers to act as finders of fact rather than advocates for clients. These lawyers have broad discretion and minimal oversight, and their findings can have a wide-ranging effect—and can even force the organization to change its ways.
In a past column I wrote about how performing an audit of the legal department can be valuable for addressing areas of regulatory compliance, financial reporting, and operational efficiency. The general counsel also faces financial responsibilities such as monitoring budgets and reporting on expenses, so another focus of internal audits could be evaluating controls that can reduce legal costs and improve the department’s efficiency.
