MNCs and the GC - Why it Really Means 'Global Counsel'

Mark VanDeVoorde, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer, Victaulic, USA

In this article, the term GC, traditionally used to refer to General Counsel or the lead legal counsel for a corporation, will be substituted for the more appropriate world-wide sobriquet of Global Counsel. This definition of the role of GC connotes the new reality of the broader global portfolio of responsibilities beyond simply “legal” to encompass compliance , risk management, tax, transfer pricing, corporate development, lobbying, and other functions now required of the role on a global basis. It also defines an evolution toward a more technology-enabled cross-cultural global corporate governance legal model that allows inter-related processes to work across the transnational operations of a Multi-National Corporation (“MNC”). GCs can achieve this in a variety of ways, either by developing and deploying in house staff with a global mindset or developing a globe-spanning network of external counsel.