Eric Notkin reflects on 18 years in the legal department at CGI

Shortly after starting his legal career in commercial litigation, Eric Notkin felt drawn to the in-house world where he could be directly engaged with the line of business and further develop his business leadership and legal skills. He joined Telesat Canada as legal counsel in 1997 before moving to global software company Hummingbird Ltd for six years. In his role as director of legal services at Hummingbird, Notkin had the opportunity to do some contract work with the Canadian multinational IT company, CGI, which soon led to a new role within the company.

“They were looking for a lawyer to support the Greater Toronto Area so I applied, and it was probably the best career decision I could have made,” says Notkin, who joined CGI 18 years ago and gradually climbed the ranks to his current position of vice president and general counsel, with responsibilities for Canada, the UK and Asia Pacific.

Notkin and his global team of approximately 30 lawyers support business partners across multiple industry verticals in all manner of transactions, including cloud services, outsourcing, and system integration and consulting, as well as M&A, litigation management and intellectual property. He also works with external counsel partners that have a clear understanding of the business and offer strategic guidance and creative solutions.

In addition to legal tech matters and legislative changes affecting the business and its customers, Notkin and his team are focused on helping company employees to work more efficiently.

“The pandemic has demonstrated how important recruiting and retention is,” he says. “Our role is fundamentally about delivering exceptional client service, and we can’t do that without a dynamic and engaged team.” Data privacy and cybersecurity are also key for Notkin, together with balancing client risk with the realities of the market. He works closely with other corporate functions including finance, HR, business, engineering and security, to ensure that deals are orchestrated in a manner that appropriately balances risk and reward.

Among his achievements, Notkin has developed an offshore legal service delivery model, leveraging the talent of his team in Bangalore, India. More recently, he contributed to the refinement of the team’s engagement review process to ensure key issues receive the level of executive visibility they require.

Like many general counsel, Notkin struggles to ensure that team members are challenged, engaged, learning and developing. As a leader, Notkin tries to push his team outside their comfort zone to help them learn and grow.

“Our clients are incredibly demanding, and our engagements are sophisticated and complex,” he says. “It can be particularly daunting for junior members of the team, so we want to ensure they receive the training and support necessary to deliver excellent service.

“Ultimately, within CGI, it’s about creating an environment in which we can work together, and as owners, we contribute to a company we can be proud of,” he says.