Let's Talk Governance

As we enter 2022, many industries are flourishing, thanks to ground-breaking advancements in technology. The legal profession is one of these industries, and, over the last few years, it has been utilizing technology to thrive. It is no secret that the pandemic accelerated digital transformation for many companies. Legal technology was evolving far before the pandemic and has only been enhanced by it.

Legal departments have gone through a rapid digital transformation in the last couple of years. It has become integral to the productivity and integrity of organizations that want to stay competitive and grow in today’s technologically driven world.

The COVID-19 crisis forced companies to work remotely, leading to a quick digital transformation that changed the way legal departments function in the long term. Many of them now use digital tools and legal technology to boost their productivity, improve operational processes, and find ways to bring more efficiency to the department.

A businesses’ growth has a large dependence on digitalization. Many companies went through a digital transformation during the pandemic and continue to do so as technology evolves. Corporate directors must also adapt to this digital reality by taking a more active role in supporting senior executives as they take steps to enhance their organization’s digital transformation and become leaders of the growth strategies.

Cybersecurity is a key concern amongst many organizations, especially in today's digital world. With companies adapting to remote or hybrid working environments, the concern for data breaches and cyberattacks is more. Data is being used across the geographies of a company, as opposed to under one network in an office. This easy access to data across multiple networks is of concern to many organizations. In the light of this new digital era, here are some of the best practices for cybersecurity in 2022.

Aware that data breaches are as much a governance issue as they are an IT issue, corporate legal departments have become accustomed to keeping a wary watch over their organization’s digital defences in recent years.

Contract Life Management (CLM) is the entire lifecycle of a contract from start to finish. The volume of contracts that a legal department of a company has to go through is high, and therefore having a reliable system in place is crucial. In addition to having the right tools to help manage your contracts, it is also important to maintain proper compliance.

The beginning of a year allows companies and individuals to come back and start fresh after a good break.

One of the things that many executives like to do when heading for any break is putting specific measures in place to ensure that they are ready to hit the ground running when they are back. With that in mind, here are some things that you as an executive assistant or board secretary can put on your 2022.

To approach the brand-new year fully prepared, goal setting is essential for in-house legal counsel.

The end of 2021 consisted of looking back and jotting down some of the big wins, best practices, and key performing indicators. These aspects will help you and your department analyze what best practices can be continued and which areas need improvement.

As a company and brand, it is crucial to have a healthy work culture within the organization. This helps employees and the employer build and establish a positive work environment while being productive at the same time. Each company also has its core values, priorities, and work culture.

The last year saw a rapid digital transformation that has changed how companies function remotely. With many employees working from home, the conversation around work-life balance has grown and been discussed more in-depth. Work-life balance is more than just a phrase or company value – it needs to be planned out and implemented with more detail.

Quebec’s labour market has seen tumultuous times, impacted by job losses, a shrinking workforce, and continued pandemic uncertainty.

Corporate counsel is facing more issues than usual as most of Canada’s large companies start rotating back into a schedule that includes, in many cases, in-office work. A survey conducted in September 2021 by Mercer Canada found that 77 percent of companies offer some form of remote work, and 54 percent offer hybrid work models, where employees come into the office for anywhere from a few days a month to a few days a week.

The world is evolving, and technology is playing a massive role in its growth.

Most companies are adapting to this new era by implementing new technologies and automation in different departments where deemed fit. Computers, software, and the cloud have helped create a new era of efficiency, and legal departments across companies are beginning to implement these tech-based solutions.

There are countless ways to employ an effective legal technology system. Unlike the systems used in the past, modern tools have made it much easier for companies to work smarter and more efficiently, leading many too herald a new age of innovation and efficiency.

Let’s explore what you can do today to boost your legal department’s productivity.

A typical strategic plan will consider several aspects of the business, including the legal department’s role in it. Businesses often include in-house counsels as part of their risk management, litigation, and documentation review strategy.

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Many businesses have had to go through rapid digital transformation in the last couple of years. This accelerated change has resulted in certain challenges for legal departments. The number and complexity of transactions required of in-house legal departments have never been greater. The explosion in e-commerce, new channels such as mobile commerce and m-banking, and corporate governance regulation in specific industries, make the adoption of sophisticated systems more critical than ever before. 

Listen to our podcast to explore how your company can overcome legal technology challenges.

As the legal industry evolves and technology continues to be enhanced to streamline and automate workflows, it's time to consider the proper vendor selection to modernize your legal contract lifecycle management. A thought-out digitalization strategy can be instrumental in successfully implementing the technology to modernize effectively. 

Technology is at the core of today’s world, especially with remote working taking over. Many roles and responsibilities are turning to technology-driven operating models. Technology greatly helps improve operational performance, drives efficiency, and reduces costs. Among the variety of roles transitioning, Legal Ops is one such function that has been focusing on automating tasks to drive efficiency in legal departments.

Listen to our podcast to learn more. 

The value of a company's board can be defined through the kind of support, expertise, and insight they bring. How well they work with the CEO of the company and add value is essential. On paper, a board's most important role is to provide oversight and challenge the CEO in steering the company strategically. By assessing the board's strategic planning and seamless flow of board deliberations, you can understand how valuable the board’s contribution is to the organization's sustainable success. Listen to our podcast to learn more! 

An effective board evaluation can help gain valuable insight into a company’s operations and improve its quality of service. It is the process by which a company, business, or organization measures the effectiveness and accountability of board members.

Board governance is also evaluated, keeping in mind aspects such as leadership, management strategy, and general affairs.

Furthermore, board evaluations keep organizations accountable and help provide transparency to their stakeholders by keeping track of strategic plans, performance, and leadership. This ensures that an organization's leadership is competent and has low levels of internal conflict.

Listen to our latest podcast to discover four important categories within which to effectively evaluate your board.

The board of any company plays a crucial role in an organization's management strategy.  Board vacancies arise under different circumstances from time to time. It is, therefore, necessary to put in place a system that governs the company policy. This will help streamline the management of vacancies on an organization's board. It will also allow for a steady flow of competent people within the organization, thus relieving the company of any pressure to find a replacement.

Your business has probably shifted most of its technology use to the cloud so as to save money and be more efficient. The question is no longer why you should move to the cloud, but how you can make the best use of corporate legal software for document management and other tasks. Over the years you may have installed a series of solutions, leaving your staff with various logins for different tasks, which makes big picture reporting difficult.

Listen to our podcast to learn how to take advantage of a SaaS solution to improve your workflow, and increase productivity and security. 

As the world confronts yet another dilemma — the COVID-19 pandemic — on top of numerous pressing social justice predicaments, boards are increasingly becoming open and receptive to ESG management. ESG management aims to increase attention and awareness of environmental, social, and governance affairs.

Listen to our podcast to answer your basic ESG questions and how to implement a successful ESG management plan. 

Succession planning is among the best practices observed by board members and executives to ensure that organizations overcome any transition they may face. The sophisticated planning of board succession promotes resilience and ensures continued success.

Listen to our podcast to explore the key benefits to establishing a solid director’s succession planning. 

Your dream team is finally in place - every single staff member has been carefully selected, your mission has been set, and focus is now on your vision - every single box has been ticked. Theoretically, your business is ready to soar, but there is one area in which you are stuck: Your board members.

When you own a company, your board members are an essential asset. They represent the interest of all shareholders and stakeholders in the company. But what if they aren't productive?

In this podcast, we'll suggest 8 potent ways to make your board members more engaged, productive, and innovative.

No matter what your position is, whether rank-and-file or CEO, the importance of having control over your workload is very important. When confronted with a mountain of work, many people prefer to bury themselves in it and neglect their wellbeing to the point of exhaustion, and even burnout.

Here are our best practices for workload management. 

The Board of Directors is responsible for managing every aspect of the company per its charter document. For that reason, the board must ask thoughtful and practical questions to better assess if its business strategy aligns with the company’s end goals or legally specified purpose.

The board’s job is to think of the bigger picture and respond according to it. Therefore, keeping the organization’s overall vision close in mind is of utmost importance for each board member.

Transparency between the Board of Directors and the executive leadership team, stakeholders, managers, employees, and customers improves a Board’s decision-making skills. This way, everyone is aware of the impact their plans will have and any risks they do take will be better-calculated ones.

A company with an excellent governance structure can go through any roadblock. The need for a new approach should be realized in all corporations, along with adopting a vision of elevating their business to an upscale system. To successfully achieve this approach, a solid and efficient governance structure must be implemented for the board.

Digital transformation is changing how businesses operate. To stay abreast of the ever-competitive business landscape, companies must use innovative technologies to streamline business operations. Among the latest innovations of the ongoing digital transformation is the digital boardroom. Adopting a digital boardroom can help directors and board members engage with management teams to simplify change management efforts.

It takes a strong board of directors to lead the charge for your company’s digital transformation, and it must come from the top. Resilience will be important as any change will come with its growing pains. 

Is your board ready for digital transformation? Listen to our podcast and find out!

For many organizations and companies, board meetings are an integral part of doing business. Board meetings are crucial to the successful running of a company or organization. A sound system for planning and executing board meetings is necessary.

Governance is a critical factor in the growth and development of any organization, to which there are many rich benefits. Listen to our latest podcast to learn more. 

The benefits of good governance should attract all organizations and their authority levels. It is an agent of business sustainability as well as profitability.

Governance has been defined by various institutions using different perspectives. The general definition, however, focuses on the rules and policies implemented by corporations. Hence, governance is the corporation's approach towards implementing its rules and ensuring compliance with its policies.

The need to drive sales, win investors, and maintain good governance is why many boards have internal issues. There are various boardroom models that can improve the company's growth. But the most ideal of all these board types is the Modern Board.

2020 may have been a difficult year, but two of its more positive themes were transformative change and corporate transparency.

These two trends are likely to continue as undercurrents in 2021. Improving overall diversity on boards will be a central priority for Canadian boards this year. Employees, investors, and most other stakeholders in a corporation agree that progress can only be made through change and that change can only be brought about by a diverse board that can stand up to full transparency - both internally and publicly.

Listen to this episode of Let's Talk Governance to explore how Canadian boards can improve their overall diversity.

Legal departments face a number of challenges, including cybersecurity threats, data protection litigation, and the digitalization of work processes. The good news is that legal management software can help legal departments overcome these obstacles. Listen to our podcast to discover the five main benefits of litigation management software for legal professionals. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the importance of technology for remote work. Now, more than ever, associations and nonprofits require technology solutions that can enable the board, management, and employees to work together as a flexible and cohesive team.

Listen to our latest podcast discover how your organization can strengthen your board's communication by simply having the right tools in place.

In this episode of Let's Talk Governance by DiliTrust, we will discuss what should go into your company's cybersecurity strategy. Having a robust and effective cybersecurity strategy in place is essential when businesses are more vulnerable than ever. Follow these tips to ensure the security and resiliency of your organization.

As of January 2020, the estimated cost of cybercrime in Canada, including both individuals and businesses, was $3 billion. The corporate cybersecurity landscape changed significantly after that due to the pandemic. Prior to March 2020, much of the existing digital security infrastructure was designed to work either in or from a company’s physical offices, with only some key employees being given secure remote access through VPNs or other means.

Have you ever wondered why board meeting minutes have to be kept confidential in Canada? It is a requirement under the CCBA and considered part of each director's fiduciary responsibility. Find out more about board meeting confidentiality in DiliTrust's premier podcast episode.