Why Today's In-House Leaders Need Executive-Level Business Training

The role is expanding

The 2026 Canadian In-House Counsel Report confirms what many already know: expectations placed on legal departments — and the lawyers who lead them — have fundamentally shifted.

Demand for in-house legal services continues to rise across risk and compliance, data privacy, contract management, litigation, and labour and employment, often without corresponding increases in budget or headcount.

At the same time, more than half of respondents report increased work-related stress, driven by sustained workload pressures and expanding accountability that goes well beyond traditional legal work.

Business skills matter most

What stands out most is how the definition of effectiveness has changed. For the first time, understanding the business has overtaken communication skills as the most important attribute of an effective in-house lawyer.