On the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 30, Nancy Dowling will participate, alongside an esteemed group of her in-house counsel peers, on a panel discussion titled, “Managing Corporate Risks: Key Issues in Preventing and Navigating Through Crisis.”
She is vice president and general counsel of Danone, United States at The Dannon Company. She has spent the majority of her career in senior-level legal department positions providing guidance and managing risk at Fortune 100 companies such as Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Procter & Gamble. Before joining Danone in 2006, she was chief intellectual property counsel at World Kitchen.
Drawing from her wealth of knowledge on the topic, she answered a few questions about best practices in managing corporate risk, offering a sneak peek into the discussion we will have on the topic during the event.
What are today’s legal departments’ biggest challenges with regard to corporate risk?
There are myriad subject areas that fall within corporate risk depending on the industry in which we practice -- securities to FDA law to employment issues to antitrust issues, just to name a few. No one person can be a master of all these areas. The most successful approach to deal with these challenges is to build a strong legal team that utilizes in-house and outside expertise in partnership.
What are some best practices that can be implemented to help avoid problems associated with these risks?
It is important for an in-house lawyer to have his/her ear to the ground and not be too insular. We depend on the newsletters and webinars of our outside counsel to keep us informed of relevant and important issues. We do not want a sky-is-falling approach but rather insightful analysis that identifies issues and provides practical advice on how to deal with those issues.
How has the increasing global economy affected the legal department's approach to risk management?
My company is a US subsidiary of a multinational parent based in Europe. The globalization of information makes it even more essential to have a close relationship with legal colleagues in other countries. Additionally, being part of a global economy, only serves to make the legal department more cautious in its approach to risk since we want to be good stewards of our business and manage risks within the United States, which could have repercussions for our global parent.
How can outside counsel best support the legal department in managing any crisis?
The best outside counsel are those who learn our business and make an effort to meet our team. Although we all frantically communicate 24/7, I do not think an effective outside counsel can underestimate the need for a trust relationship that develops over time outside of text messages and email. Those that form strong partnerships will find loyal clients that are not driven by the lowest cost billable hour but rather by the quality and value of the advice that is received. The outside counsel who form trusted relationships are the ones that will be the first called at times of crisis.