Editor's Desk

Energy prices are poised to hit historic highs. Some global supply chains that were already damaged by the pandemic could be severed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and low-cost, high-quality Russian software, which has significant market share and widespread use in U.S. corporations, is now “technologia non grata,” according to business tech news site ZDNet. In other words, the cost of doing business is going to rise. Smart GCs and CLOs are trying to do more with less, and in this issue of Today’s General Counsel we interview one of them, Lisa Ann Cooney, the head of a large defense and construction company’s legal department. Identifying talent in-house that can handle work that formerly was outsourced is one way she’s coping, but she has other methods as well.

In other articles, columnist Todd Presnell explains what kind of declaration may be necessary to maintain attorney-client privilege over inter-office memos, Heather Meeker speculates about the potential role of blockchain in corporate governance, and Nicholas d’Adhemar says that CFOs and CEOs are pleased by the way their legal departments performed during the pandemic and are ready to spend on legal tech.

Bob Nienhouse, Editor-In-Chief, bnienhouse@todaysgc.com