The CGCA is Canada’s national programme designed exclusively to recognize excellence in the In-House Counsel community. This special evening honouring the best counsel in Canada brings together the senior members of the Canadian private bar and the leading In-House Counsel in the country in a celebration of the accomplishments of the Canadian legal profession over the past year.
The Inaugural Baker McKenzie Innovation award recognizes and honours the in-house legal team that truly exemplifies the “Legal Department of the Future.” Judges seek to highlight the department that shows a willingness to embrace change through technology, behavior, business model or service innovation and thus help meet the needs of the company or its business lines.
The Award goes to the legal team implementing the most balanced portfolio of strategic and tactical innovation solutions over the past 12 months including;
- Strategic innovations include those aimed at improving the in-house legal team’s effectiveness in the long term at managing organizational risk and facilitating improved department and organizational operations, or at positioning the legal department to undertake new value-added initiatives; and,
- Tactical innovations that improve core legal operations including through sourcing strategy, such as the adoption and implementation of legal solutions technology or training and development of personnel or of technology solutions such as machine learning and AI.
- Award criteria relate to longer-term vision for people, practice and technology, as well as organizational impact.
This year, Managing Partner Kevin Coon was proud to present the Innovation Award to Nicolas Chaput from Uber Canada for outstanding innovation in the In-House Counsel community. Congratulations to Nicolas and the whole Uber Canada Team.
