Corporate crises have long called for General Counsel (GC) to apply their legal expertise and judgement.
But, with the rise of cyberattacks and data breaches, a greater focus on environmental, social and governance issues, class actions and the emergence of more powerful artificial intelligence, GCs are contending with more frequent and varied crises.
GCs are also playing a larger role in helping businesses navigate such events. Instead of simply being asked for legal opinions, they find themselves and their offices leading the coordination of internal response teams. They are also being asked to have a view about the ‘right’ path forward for the company – one that considers both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ law standards and wider community and stakeholder expectations.
To explore how companies are approaching these issues, the Ashurst Leadership Centre convened a roundtable in partnership with The Legal 500 in Sydney in November 2023. The event was attended by 15 GCs from Australia’s largest companies and Ashurst partners and communications experts.
The discussion was facilitated by Lea Constantine, Partner, Head of Region – Australia.