The Company Secretary/Legal Adviser Program

In-House Counsel are faced with many challenges. The job can include a huge variety of topics, depending upon the activities of their organisation. So, company lawyers have to be flexible and adaptable when their operational colleagues invite contribution from the legal department. In this training programme, company lawyers will have their skills refreshed and developed.

The course curriculum addresses how the company lawyer fits into the organisation and how he or she acts as an interface to external legal advisers. It looks at the complementary role of the company secretary (who may be a lawyer) and his or her value to the Board of Directors and to the maintenance of high standards in corporate governance. The programme spends one day on the resolution of legal disputes and another on the negotiation, structuring and drafting of contracts and other documents.

Learning Objectives

• To familiarize participants with the duties of company directors
• To examine how company boards organize themselves
• To highlight the checks and balance that apply to the boards of listed companies
• To refresh existing and develop new commercial skills for executives working in or managing the legal function
• To highlight the importance of the Company Secretary’s role
• To consider alternative methods of resolving corporate disputes
• To practice tools and techniques in negotiation

Course Content

• Corporate Behaviours – Best Practices
• Company director duties
• Creating an effective board
• Corporate conduct - the social responsibilities of the company
• Consequences of failure in corporate behaviour

Roles and Responsibilities of the Company Secretary

• Assisting the Board
• Record keeping
• Managing the registered office
• Supporting and managing board and company meetings

Roles and Responsibilities of the Corporate Legal Department

• What's in the job of the in-house lawyer?
• Adding value to company performance
• Identifying and reducing corporate risks
• Measuring the effectiveness of the corporate legal department

Resolving Legal Disputes

• Where do the problems occur?
• Resolving disputes without recourse to the courts
• Alternative dispute resolution techniques – arbitration, mediation, conciliation
• Other dispute procedures

• Negotiating, Drafting and Structuring Legal Agreements
• Contract law refresher
• Drafting legal agreements
• Negotiation principles
• Tools and techniques for negotiation
• What are our negotiables?

Who should attend

• New or Experienced in-house lawyers wanting to refresh their skills and knowledge about their role.
• Lawyers transferring from private practice to a corporate role
• Executive and Non-executive Company Directors Public officials in a regulatory, supervisory or compliance functions
• Company Secretaries of public companies

In this interactive training course participants will frequently work in pairs as well as in larger groups to complete exercises as well as regional and international case studies.