In a post-Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley world, corporate general counsel must wear more hats than ever before.
No longer merely responsible for the oversight and management of legal functions, inside counsel are increasingly counted upon to address a variety of board governance and global operations matters. This has been underscored by the fact that most executives named “chief compliance officer” or “chief governance officer” are typically former (or current) general counsel or corporate secretary. As the line between legal and business responsibilities grows thinner, the question of “how many hats are too many?” weighs on the minds of lawyers.
