Legal skills may be enough to get general counsel on their company's board of directors, but they need to offer their employers more, according to research released this week.

A survey of 35 FTSE 500 companies commissioned by the City office of US firm Baker & McKenzie revealed that senior company executives want lawyers to make more use of their 'overview' perspective of the business.

They said that while legal expertise is a general counsel's ticket to the boardroom, it must be combined with a good understanding of broader issues to add value.

One-fifth of respondents said they saw their general counsel's current role as a 'business enabler', while 37% considered the main role to be 'safety net'.

More than one-third said it should be both.

The senior executives recognised the importance of in-house counsel's participation in decision-making, but only 54% said they actually involved general counsel before making a final decision.

Just 11% said general counsel helped generate strategy, while 26% said they took part in initial board discussions.

Respondents said they saw room for improvement in general counsel's knowledge of offshoring issues, and skills in managing local advice.

Gary Senior, managing partner of Baker & McKenzie in London, said: 'The in-house lawyer often has a much broader overview of the business and its history than the business leaders.

To some extent it's about good procedures and housekeeping, but on another level, by pulling everything together.'

He said general counsel have a role to play in helping management to rationalise their concerns, some of which may be opportunities.

'This will free business executives to make more creative decisions, but for business leaders to get the most out of general counsel, they must allow them to act as facilitators.'

Anthony Armitage, chairman of the London Commerce & Industry Group, said: 'In-house lawyers need more than just legal skills - they must also have a can-do, solution-driven approach.

Lawyers are still sometimes consulted too late because of an historic attitude towards them as a cost centre and place of last resort.

But they are ideally placed to play a vital role if given the opportunity.'

Rachel Rothwell