In-house counsel in the US are benefiting from a tighter regulatory environment and gaining higher status within their companies, recent research has revealed - a situation being mirrored in the UK.

A survey of 750 US general counsel and corporate directors by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) showed that the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation has improved the perceived importance of general counsel. Some 80% of corporate directors said general counsel had 'a great deal of responsibility' in ensuring good corporate governance, compared to just under a third last year. More than 90% of general counsel said they felt they shouldered a lot of governance responsibility, up 10% from the previous year.


The strict regulatory regime has earned many general counsel a place at board meetings, with 70% of respondents agreeing that the head lawyer's attendance is beneficial for managing company-wide risk.


Almost two-thirds of respondents also believed that whistle-blowing provisions in the US legislation had improved the climate and discussion between corporate counsel and the board.


Deepak Malhotra, co-chairman of the Law Society's Commerce and Industry Group and director of legal affairs at Interbrew UK, said the profile of UK lawyers had risen similarly as a result of a changing regulatory environment. He said: 'The corporate governance drive in the UK has led to a more important and appreciated role for general counsel and the legal function generally, with in-house lawyers joining executive committees and boards.


'In-house lawyers are being given an opportunity to make an added-value contribution to their company that makes an impact on the bottom line. But they must make sure they step up to the plate.'


He added: 'Whereas the driver in the US has been Sarbanes-Oxley, in the UK it has been the whole issue of corporate governance, which has become very important for companies, especially listed companies, in the last two or three years.'