Chief legal officer

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A chief legal officer (CLO) is the highest-ranking corporate officer concerning legal affairs of a corporation or agency. Chief legal officers typically hold the title of general counsel.

Skill requirements

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Their aptitude should not be limited to the law. In addition to a high level of legal skill, CLOs of corporations should have leadership skills. They must be able to act decisively regarding legal challenges that face a corporation, and competently advise other C level officers. They make sure all actions by the company are legal and typically report to the Board of Directors.

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Reporting structure

The CLO/General Counsel typically reports directly to the CEO.^[1] His/her duties to the entire company involve overseeing and identifying the legal issues in all departments and their interrelation, including engineering, design, marketing, sales, distribution, credit, finance, human resources, production, as well as corporate governance and business policy. This would naturally require in most cases reporting directly to the owner or CEO overseeing the very business on which the CLO is expected to be familiar with and advise on the most confidential level. This requires the CLO/General Counsel to work closely with each of the other officers, and their departments, to appropriately be aware and advise.

^ The 2011 In-House Counsel Compensation Survey, Question 10,[1] Profiles of In-House Counsel 2006[2] Who Does Your Counsel Report To? (2001) (The Majority Report to the CEO)[3]

v t e Corporate titles

Chief officers	President Chief Accounting Officer Chief administrative officer Chief Analytics Officer Chief audit executive Chief brand officer Chief business officer Chief channel officer Chief commercial officer Chief communications officer Chief compliance officer Chief creative officer Chief data officer Chief Digital Officer Chief executive officer Chief Experience Officer Chief financial officer Chief human resources officer Chief information officer Chief information security officer Chief innovation officer Chief investment officer Chief knowledge officer Chief learning officer Chief legal officer Chief marketing officer Chief Merchandising Officer Chief networking officer Chief operating officer Chief procurement officer Chief product officer Chief risk officer Chief restructuring officer Chief science officer Chief Stores Officer Chief strategy officer Chief technology officer Chief visionary officer Chief web officer

Other titles	Chairman Creative director Executive director General counsel Managing director Non-executive director Manager supervisor Team leader

Related	Board of directors Corporate governance Executive pay Senior management Supervisory board Talent management

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Last modified on 12 May 2013, at 18:14