Risk management is a 360-degree approach, says Mercier-Filteau
Since joining the legal team at WSP Canada as the company’s sole lawyer 10 years ago, Nathalie Mercier-Filteau has seen the legal department grow to a team of 35 professionals with vastly more responsibilities and a deeper involvement in the business.
“Ten years ago, I was really there to answer certain questions and help with very large problems, but it was more reactive than it was proactive,” says Mercier-Filteau, who initially joined the professional services firm as senior counsel, risk management; and earned the title of assistant general counsel and corporate secretary last year. Most recently she was promoted to deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary this month. “As we grew bigger and more mature as an organization, the portfolio of projects started to change,” she adds. WSP took on much larger and more complex projects, so the legal department was given the go ahead to grow on a very significant level.
The legal team is now at the centre of all projects and claims, with specific lawyers dedicated to each business line. Relevant lawyer works with each project team to work out the strategy, mitigate any problems and assist with the project during its lifecycle. When a situation does end up in a claim or a litigation, the legal team takes over to find the best solution for the company.
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Risk management has always been a significant part of Mercier-Filteau’s remit at WSP. She notes that the strategy for navigating risk has changed over the years as legal has become more closely integrated with the strategy of the business.
“It’s really a 360-degree approach to risk management on every project that we touch, and we work with all the stakeholders in the company to deliver that,” she says. “It’s a much more mature way of handling risk for the business, and it’s much more aligned with industry standards as well, but it was a journey that we really had to go through.”
As well as taking responsibility for a wide variety of legal matters and risk management issues, Mercier-Filteau also leads a team overseeing a portfolio of litigation and claims.
Guiding the company through acquisitions is another important part of Mercier-Filteau’s role. Most recently, WSP Canada completed the acquisition of the environment and infrastructure business of John Wood Group plc. This comes on the heels of last year’s acquisition of Golder Associates which Mercier-Filteau describes as the “third big game changer for the Canadian company in the last 10 years” – cementing WSP’s position as a leader in earth and environment services. The company also acquired Focus Corp. in 2014 and MMM in 2015.
“It’s a really big project bringing all these companies together into one single business unit that functions together,” says Mercier-Filteau. “At the legal level there’s a lot of implications as we try to integrate those companies with different organizational cultures and bring them to act as one.”
As well as continuing to work on the integration and merger of the latest acquisition, Mercier-Filteau is also focused on assisting with the integration of a new global enterprise resource planning software system in her department to improve efficiencies. Also high on the list of priorities for next year, she hopes to work with partners around the world to share the risk on projects more efficiently.
“We need to leverage all the knowledge and all the expertise that we have internally, either on the claim side or on the contract side, to make sure we learn from all the projects around the world and protect ourselves accordingly,” says Mercier-Filteau. “This is a high priority for the company because it helps limit the risk for the company, protects your reputation and protects your margins.”
The legal department is also looking out for new talent as they strive to expand and deepen their internal expertise. This indicates a vote of confidence from the C-suite, Mercier-Filteau says, as they view legal as strategic business partners who share the vision for the company.
“It’s our ability to look ahead and propose innovative solutions to best protect the business,” she says.