Exercise 9

Company Legal Department

The staff members of Legal department work on protection of company's interests and creation of conditions for robust business development. Typically staff members of Legal department are qualified lawyers and their assistants. They are subordinated to Department Manager (or General Counsel) who represents the department, manages activities of legal staff and keeps control over departmental workflow.

Legal Advisers play one of the most important roles in Legal department. They give advice on product development, marketing and promotions. For example, before marketing a new product, marketing manager often needs to talk with Legal department to discuss potential legal issues. In order to give exhaustive legal advice, Department Manager charges lawyers with duties of examining legal issues and checking legislation points. Lawyers also provide advice in the filed of discrimination in hiring practices, sexual harassment and employment.

Law department is responsible for providing legal services and advice to the company, its divisions and employees. The department office faces a great number of different legal matters. These matters include: business development, contract management, real estate transactions, customer claims against the company for product damages and defects, litigation, employment law, sales and leases matters, debt collection, bankruptcy, case prosecution, and much more. All these activities create the workflow of Legal department. If to look at the workflow in whole, the following main functions of the legal department are:

· Providing legal advice and guidance

· Prosecution of cases in courts and litigation management

· Documentation preparation and drafting

Let's briefly consider each of these functions.