Interview on the legal perspective of business issues.

This article is an interview I conducted with Jeffrey Paulsen, Principal of

Paulsen Law Firm PLLC, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. It is presented as a series of articles to be presented in this forum.

We touched on just a few different issues and perhaps in the future Jeff will agree to visit again. Here is another part of the discussion:

Gerry: I often see business leaders shun taking advice from lawyers even when the advice is clearly in their best interest. How do you approach overcoming an issue like this? It must be difficult to be viewed as the “sales prevention” department within your own company or by the client.

Jeff: Yes, you have identified a problem that many lawyers face.  Just like the human resources function, the legal function is seen as a “cost center” that does not generate revenue (although I will argue that often the future revenue generated or expenses avoided are because of good lawyering) and therefore the lawyers are not held in as high regard as those business line leaders responsible for P&L statements.  My own view is that a great business leader understands that success comes from a well balanced team of professionals who are given the opportunities to do what they do best; whether it is accounting, finance, marketing, sales and yes, legal.  My approach has been to demonstrate that I am a business executive with a law degree and although my first responsibilities are to handle the legal functions for a company, my advice and counsel may be considered as a member of the senior management business team as important for the overall business strategy and business plan.  If I am permitted to express my views, from both a legal and business perspective, in conjunction with other senior team members, then I will have given the business leaders with the advice that they can use to make the ultimate decision that is in the best overall interests of the company.