Are the law schools doing an adequate job in preparing future corporate counsel or outside corporate counselors?
Veasey: Obviously, law students will need to learn about corporate governance issues and the laws that address them, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank. They also need to be attuned to the challenges and tensions of the general counsel. My concern is that not many people really understand what the general counsel does. The general counsel is, as Ben Heineman has said, a partner and guardian. She is a partner working with other senior management in developing business strategy and corporate transactions. She is the guardian of the corporate integrity, not only at the senior management table but also at the board table. As a partner and guardian, the general counsel is the persuasive counselor to ensure that ethics, morals, and the law are followed, and that the business strategy makes sense without incurring undue enterprise or reputational risks. Editor: You have introduced our readers to the concept of the chief legal officer as a persuasive counselor. Would you talk about the dyna
