Here’s a bit of irony that I think will soon become a bit of history: Despite the fact that the General Counsel’s office (GC) in most companies carries responsibility for legal documents, the GC is not always deeply involved with contract management processes. This situation probably evolved because contracts are viewed as satisfying business needs. But recent well-publicized regulations, events, and business failures have made it abundantly clear that contracts, though business-oriented in nature, are intimately associated with corporate risks. And responsibility for managing the corporate risk profile sits squarely in the lap of the GC.

Fortunately, GCs are increasingly asserting their authority in the contract management process as they begin to recognize the tight linkage between this process and their ability to mitigate legal and regulatory risks. Remember the old commercial for vegetable juice when the guy slaps himself on the head and says, “I could have had a V-8?” Well, more and more GC’s are now having an analogous epiphany with contract lifecycle management (CLM).

GC’s take a lot of heat when something pertaining to a legal document or an audit goes awry, so their vested interest in contract management is rapidly becoming crystal clear. What’s less obvious is the growing role in strategic business operations that will result from this involvement.

- Terry Nicholson