Lexpert Magazine

12 LEXPERT MAGAZINE | MAY 2019 change and grow high among them. Disruptive technologies are increasingly transforming the way people do business, she says, accelerating the pace of change. at means innovation is "absolutely" something the senior leadership team is constantly thinking about. "Companies have to embrace change, and risk is inherent in change. As in-house counsel, we have to help them do that — and make sure they can do so without run- ning afoul of legal or compliance risk." Daniel Yelin, Associate General Counsel, Head of Legal Canada at Bausch Health Companies Inc., agrees with all that but he'd add in another kind of risk into the mix. Reputation risk. In his case, it's understandable that reputa- tional risk is key to every business decision. Bausch is the former Valeant Pharma- ceuticals International Inc., which faced a tumultuous few years fighting an account- ing scandal, and public outrage over its tac- tic of buying up drug manufacturers then slashing research and development while increasing the price of the target's existing drugs, sometimes by 1000%. At one point, Valeant was facing multiple lawsuits and US congressional and regula- tory inquiries into its drug-pricing prac- tices while struggling with US$30 billion of debt. In 2017, its stock price was down 95% from 2015. But under new management, it sold off several companies to reduce its debt and made a commitment to limit drug-price increases. It settled lawsuits and regulatory investigations and "there was no real find- ing it did anything illegal," Yelin points out. It changed its name almost exactly a year ago. e measures seem to be working ; in early May Bausch's stock price was up 34.5% from the start of 2019. Yelin, head of legal for Canada, has re- sponsibility for all Canadian legal operations and is part of the Canadian management team that makes strategic business decisions. at means he monitors business trans- actions, partnerships, day-to-day business affairs and tactics the company uses from a sales and marketing perspective, as well as some of the more fundamental things you'd expect any senior in-house counsel to oversee, such as a merger or acquisition or supply situation. At part of senior leadership, he says he is welcome to weigh in on business issues. "Aer what we went through a few years ago there's very little appetite to take on un- necessary risk within the organization. As senior legal counsel we have to manage risk — and a large component of that is reputa- tional risk as well." Melanie Schweizer Vice President, Le- gal for Bell Canada and BCE Inc., says that is exactly the area in-house counsel can de- liver real value because they understand the company's larger business strategy and con- cerns while keeping it on the right side of legal and regulatory requirements. "It's seeing the big picture — being able to address a legal question or an issue not just in a vacuum, but with backdrop of having a deep understanding of the business and the lens of the legal and regulatory framework in which we operate." In-house counsel who look at business is- sues and risk from a purely legal perspective, are not maximizing their value, she says. "I encourage on my team to not see themselves as not just a legal adviser but re- ally a business partner in terms of evaluating business options, risks, and strategy. I never want to hear my partners talk about giving legal advice to a client. "My expectation is everybody is sitting at the table elbow-to-elbow with their busi- ness partners thinking through a problem with a business objective and finding a path forward that meets that objective within "After what we went through a few years ago there's very little appetite to take on unnecessary risk within the organization. As senior legal counsel we have to manage risk — and a large component of that is reputational risk as well." DANIEL YELIN ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, HEAD OF LEGAL CANADA, BAUSCH HEALTH COMPANIES INC.

• Cover
• front
• back