The Shift: The Expectation to Drive Business Growth During Instability (With Limited Resources)
Even in the current political climate, general counsel are under mounting pressure to help their companies expand globally. In fact, despite ongoing geopolitical instability and tightening regulatory regimes, 98% of general counsel and senior legal professionals surveyed for CSC’s Barometer 2025: Rising to the Challenge of Global Expansion Trends said their organizations intend to expand operations this year. The report, which surveyed 350 in-house legal leaders in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, says legal departments are being asked to deliver on aggressive growth strategies while simultaneously navigating the most burdensome regulatory environment many have ever faced. The Conversation GCs are expected to guide the business through these turbulent times while simultaneously serving as strategic global growth partners to the business. This means balancing operational legal work, such as entity management, with higher-level advisory roles on M&A, risk and geopolitical exposure. “Managing growth in a variety of jurisdictions is complex,” said CSC Chief Legal Officer Ian McConnel. “There’s going to be additional regulation you’re going to have to navigate if you’re increasing your footprint.” Adding to the pressure, in-house legal teams remain lean. The report found that 43% of organizations rely primarily on their internal teams to manage legal operations involving global subsidiaries, even as regulatory demands continue to multiply. That reliance carries real risk, according to Gavin Smith, global head of CSC Risk and Compliance. “One of the challenges is how to get your arms around all the legal and compliance requirements that you maybe didn’t have in the past,” he said. “You must identify actions you need to take to become compliant or maintain compliance—as well as address the ongoing question of how you keep on top of any future changes.” The Significance For legal departments, the burden of managing entities across multiple jurisdictions isn’t just about understanding the law—it’s about staying ahead of evolving frameworks, local enforcement and global disclosure rules. However, only 27% of respondents said they felt “very prepared” to meet new beneficial ownership reporting requirements, gaining traction in jurisdictions worldwide. In-house legal leaders deemed the regulatory demands in Europe especially burdensome, with one executive noting that “the way in which a law is enacted in one country compared to another can be worlds apart.” On top of that, in-house teams face mounting pressure to cut spending, deliver faster results and justify every invoice. Chris Ochs, VP of legal operations at UnitedLex, said, “There’s always pressure on outside counsel management. But I think the conversation is changing with the introduction of tools and the availability of data.” These challenges are compounded by an ongoing worldwide tariff war, not seen since the 1930s, disrupting costs for manufacturers and suppliers. Such disruption means risk—and that makes it all the more important for Legal to have a seat at the table. To that end, McKinsey & Co has recommended that companies set up a nerve center to effectively respond to extraordinary challenges facing those entities engaged in global trade. Levy said companies learned a lot during the pandemic about the value of establishing a nerve center that becomes a nucleus, or "center of gravity," to "help itemize and deliver against a whole diversity of decisions. McKinsey suggests that the center be led by a full-time executive "to really run a cadence of decision-making (and) make sure things are elevated to the right levels of governance." "We would have people from compliance and legal to just make sure that your legal and compliance execution is well-functioning," said Cindy Levy, who is based in McKinsey's London office. Operations also needs to be part of the war room team, as does logistics, given its knowledge of the supply chain. The Information Want to know more? Here's what we've discovered in the ALM Global Newsroom: Legal Ops Leaders Are Finding Ways to Blunt Impact of Surging Big Law Rates SEC Offers ‘Narrow’ Clarity on Crypto Staking'Crypto Enforcement Is Dead': SEC Files to Dismiss Binance Litigation Legal Departments That Master Their Data Bring More Leverage to Law Firm Negotiations GOP Pushes to Eliminate Audit Oversight Watchdog, Shift Duties to SEC Toyota Motor North America Hires Insider to Lead Push to Prevent Additional Compliance Miscues
The Forecast Not surprisingly, technology is growing as a lifeline for legal departments to help manage all these expectations and risks. Respondents ranked upgrading technology and automation tools as their top operational priority for 2025. Alongside technology, legal operations need to be at the center of a transformation. “Right now, legal-ops teams are doing their due diligence,” Ochs said. “There are so many new tools out there, and nobody really knows yet what the future will look like. But one thing is clear—we’re going to be working alongside AI.” The long game, he said, is building a legal function that balances innovation with structure and strategy with execution. “It’s about using the right data, the right tools, and the right partnerships to move faster and smarter,” he said. “And that’s how legal becomes a driver of business value.” The use of AI is particularly valuable in dealmaking, where speed and accuracy are crucial. CSC cites Bain & Co. forecast that generative AI will enable every step of the M&A process within five years. For GCs supporting cross-border transactions, that could be a game-changer, especially if predictions of increased M&A activity for the remainder of this year come to fruition. “Even a year ago, everyone was interested in AI but at the same time were still standing on the sidelines and asking how trustworthy it was,” Thijs van Ingen, CSC’s global head of corporate solutions said. “We’re now seeing real added value and productivity gains, particularly in complex areas like M&A. The shift towards tech-enabled partners shows GCs are acting decisively to modernize their departments in the face of mounting operational pressure.” | 