Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
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20 www.lexpert.ca InHouse Profile come from inside the institution. In her view, it is the in-house team that understands the bank's risk appetite, strategic priorities, and products – context that is essential when deciding what to integrate, what to change, and how far to push on timing and structure. That philosophy reflects Ross' own path into banking. After earning her law degree and completing her practical training, she spent about two years at a law firm working on discrete transactions. She enjoyed the work but wanted a broader canvas. When RBC recruited her into its capital markets legal team as a derivatives lawyer, she had never worked in that space before. What she found was a front-row seat to transformation. Over the years, she watched RBC Capital Markets grow into a top 10 player in the United States – and, more importantly, she had "a seat at the table" as a trusted advisor enabling that growth. That experience cemented her view that in-house counsel should not see themselves as back-office risk spotters but as strategic partners accountable for outcomes. Today, that mindset underpins how she leads within what is often described as RBC's "internal law firm," a global legal team with technical excellence is necessary but not sufficient. They must be willing to show up as strategic advisors, "own their seat at the table," and adopt an enterprise-wide perspective. The matters that reach in-house counsel rarely come with simple yes-or-no answers. They demand curiosity, context, and judg- ment. Often, the right next step is not to give an immediate answer but to ask more ques- tions, understand the full picture, and then offer advice that helps both the business and the bank move forward while fulfilling legal and regulatory obligations. At RBC, that translates into a clear expec- tation that lawyers will own their advice and be accountable for its impact on the busi- ness. Whether the answer is ultimately yes or no, Ross says, success lies in making sure decision-makers understand the reasoning and feel supported throughout the process. Her own career illustrates the value of stepping outside traditional legal roles to gain that broader perspective. After 15 years in capital markets law, Ross was ready to test herself in new ways. RBC's culture of internal mobility helped open the door. First, she expanded her remit to lead the law group's global operations team, taking on non-legal responsibilities for the first time. That experience paved the way for a move out of law altogether into a role as head of global credit and cash management for wealth management. From there, she joined group risk manage- ment as global head of wealth management risk and later became head of compliance for Canadian banking and wealth management. Working across law, operations, business, and risk gave her the chance to serve the bank from multiple perspectives, build new networks, and deepen her understanding of how decisions play out on the ground. "I learned a lot by serving the business from different vantage points, and the experience made me more effective when I returned to my legal roots," she reflects. Her advice to other in-house lawyers is simple: do not let the comfort of expertise keep you in one place. THE EVOLUTION OF IN-HOUSE LEGAL AT RBC • 2021: Chief legal officer (CLO) joins RBC's Group Executive Committee, and Law Group becomes a standalone function • 2023: Law Group combines with Global Regulatory Compliance and Government Affairs as the Legal Affairs & Compliance function to leverage shared strengths in a more complex environment • 2024: CLO role expands to chief legal & administrative officer (CLAO), creating the CLAO Group, which unites key strategic functions, including Law Group, in a 1,800-strong global team playing both offence and defence for the bank "I LEARNED A LOT BY SERVING THE BUSINESS FROM DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINTS, AND THE EXPERIENCE MADE ME MORE EFFECTIVE WHEN I RETURNED TO MY LEGAL ROOTS" specialized practices. As one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization, RBC needs both depth and breadth. "We have the scale and expertise to tackle and navigate the complexity of a rapidly changing world," she says. For her teams, that means proactively identifying opportu- nities to leverage RBC's strengths and to find efficiencies in how the law group enables the bank's ambitions. For lawyers considering a long-term in-house career at a bank, Ross argues that