In-house counsel must recognise realities of business world, says former UBS chair Kurer

Former UBS chairman and GC Kurer warns in-house counsel to open their eyes to commercial realities

Former UBS chairman and general counsel Peter Kurer has called for in-house counsel to be more aware of the differing expectations they face from non-lawyers and to pay greater attention to businesspeople's needs.

As keynote speaker at the Legal Week European Corporate Counsel Forum last month (15 September), Kurer reflected on his dealings with various parties at UBS - from traders to external lawyers - during the seven years he served as the Swiss investment bank's general counsel.

"Traders and brokers want solutions from their lawyers, not obstacles, [whereas] chief executives believe the GC is there to add to the smooth running of the organisation. For regulators you are the cop within the organisation," he observed, adding that relations with law firms can be difficult when they consider general counsel to be "second-class citizens."

Kurer, who joined UBS as general counsel in 2001 before spending a controversial year as chairman of the bank between April 2008 and April 2009, went on to encourage in-house lawyers to recognise how skillsets differ between lawyers and businesspeople.

In particular, lawyers need to recognise that business executives want more "emotional intelligence" rather that intellectual observations which generate obstacles. He warned: "Lawyers are extremely rational and value intellectual honesty. Business people think emotion - and emotional intelligence - is important, too."

Kurer also cautioned in-house counsel against being overly cynical, while urging them to temper their instincts for perfectionism to accommodate businesspeople's drive to reduce complexity and close deals.

"Lawyers are perfectionists who are happy to delay a process for relatively minute details… [but] business people live on reducing complexity."

The event also saw delegates hear from speakers including Ian Jameson, former senior legal counsel at Lehman Brothers, and former Rio Tinto GC Charles Lawton.

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