Legal interim managers are in high demand as companies look for ways to reduce overhead costs. Despite the many benefits they offer, this may not always be the best option. Before you decide to hire one, make sure you know what to watch out for and how to avoid common pitfalls.
In this article you will learn the following:
- What is a legal interim manager?
- What is the added value of a legal interim manager?
- Three reasons not to hire a legal interim manager.
Why this article?
More and more companies are looking for legal interim managers. In a fast moving and complex business environment, it is important for an organization to be able to rely on a legal professional with sufficient skills and experience.
What is a legal interim manager?
Based on my experience, a legal interim manager is a kind of Jack of all trades legal experienced professional. A Jack of all trades, master of none is “a person who is good at fixing things, and has a very good broad knowledge”.
In other words, this is a person who is not specialized in one particular area of the law but has a very good and broad knowledge combined with several years of experience ideally as an in-house counsel.
A number of years of experience and “all round” knowledge are essential as someone in this role will need to be efficient starting on his first day of employment.
Even more importantly, he or she must have excellent communication skills in order to be able to integrate the organisation quickly.
Legal interim managers work as independent contractors or freelancers. Lawyers can also fill this role.
What is the added value of a legal interim manager?
Legal interim managers can create a lot of added value for a company thanks to their hands-on approach, their flexibility (can work part time or full time) and their ability to make an immediate impact.
For instance, they can be useful in the following situations:
- in peak periods following a merger, acquisition, due diligence, compliance project, social elections, etc. ;
- for a specific project, such as turn key agreement;
- for an assignment that requires specific expertise;
- when an employee is temporarily absent due to a maternity leave, extended travel, taking a time credit, …;
- as a test case to find out if it makes sense to hire a full time in-house counsel.
By nature, the assignment of a legal interim manager is limited in time. Typically, a mission lasts between three months to one year.
Legal interim managers are paid on the basis of a daily fee.
The advantage of working on the basis of a daily fee is that a company can hire someone in function of their budget. A legal interim manager’s fee will vary. Depending on the experience of the professional and the nature of the assignment, average daily rates range from 350€ to 1000€.
Another advantage is that legal interim managers are dedicated to a specific project or mission. For instance, they can support an existing in-house counsel and make a significant impact by focusing exclusively on dedicated tasks.
3 reasons not to hire a legal interim manager
When is it not advantageous for a company to hire a legal interim manager?
Reason 1 : You are not able to dedicate an adequate budget
If you want to fully benefit from the value that a professional interim legal manager can provide, you must have a suitable budget.
A good legal interim manager can keep your external legal expenses under control. For instance, they can help coordinate and prepare the work of external lawyers.
A good legal interim manager can also help your company avoid liabilities and costs.
However, if you don’t have a suitable budget to cover the minimum number of days required to undertake critical and specific tasks, it would be advisable to reconsider using legal interim services.
Reason 2: You are looking for administrative support
Another important factor to consider is the nature of the work you are looking to outsource.
Legal interim managers are usually most effective when working on assignments that require specific legal expertise or experience.
If the bulk of the workload consists of clerical or administrative work, such as filing legal documents or drafting minutes of a meeting, you will likely be better assisted by a skilled paralegal or someone with an administrative profile.
Alternatively, you could provide your legal interim manager with adequate administrative support. This will allow him or her to focus on more complex legal matters.
Reason 3 : You require confidential advice on a highly sensitive matter
Although they perform the same tasks, legal interim managers do not belong to any of the four regulated legal professions:
- company lawyers ;
- lawyers ;
- bailiffs ; and
- civil-law notaries.
Legal interim managers are either self-employed or independent contractors. Contrary to a company lawyer, who benefits from the legally embedded confidentiality of his advice (on basis of article 5 of the law dated March 1, 2000 that attributed the privilege of confidentiality on advice of in-house lawyers or “IBJ” act), their advice is not considered confidential by law (even if the person is a qualified lawyer for any advice given within the framework of his mission as a legal interim manager).
The advice of a legal interim manager and all related correspondence and documents are, of course, strictly confidential vis-à-vis third parties, based on the confidentiality clause in his or her agreement. However, according to the Belgian or European investigative authorities, the same legal protection regarding the confidentiality of information does not apply to legal interim managers. Therefore, in the event that you require potentially sensitive advice, using the services of an in-house counsel or a lawyer is recommended.
If you would like to discuss if a legal interim manager is right for you, do not hesitate to book a free consultation.
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