Strategic Solutions for Deputy General Counsels: Staying Agile in 2025

Today, Deputy General Counsels (DGCs) are at a critical intersection of career ambition and operational reality. Our recent research, conducted in partnership with Wakefield Research, reveals that while DGCs report record-high job satisfaction (96%), they face significant challenges in both career progression and department resourcing.* As we navigate 2025 with a new presidential administration in the United States, these challenges are amplified by shifting regulations and policies that demand greater agility and flexibility from legal teams worldwide.

Budget Pressures in a Changing Regulatory Environment

The new presidential administration brings with it the promise of regulatory changes across multiple sectors. For legal departments already stretched thin, adapting to these changes presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Legal teams must now:

1. Navigate policy shifts: With a new U.S. presidential administration, legal departments across the globe must stay abreast of any new regulations and/or executive orders.
2. Manage increased compliance workloads: 42% of DGCs cited compliance and regulatory risks as their primary concern regarding GenAI adoption, highlighting the heightened awareness of regulatory complexities.
3. Optimize budgets in uncertain economic conditions: Legal departments are pressured to ensure they can deal with 2025's uncertain business, regulatory, and economic environment with agility.

The Limitations of Traditional Resourcing Models

When faced with large-scale legal projects—whether driven by regulatory changes, mergers and acquisitions, or internal restructuring—DGCs find significant limitations in traditional legal staffing approaches:

Hiring More Full-Time Employees Falls Short

Adding full-time lawyers often misaligns with project needs, with 46% of DGCs citing the need for varied expertise across specialties. Additionally:

• 43% note that large-scale projects are typically temporary
• 41% report difficulties hiring in time due to talent shortages
• 40% report that onboarding takes too long, making it impractical for short-term projects

Law Firm Reliance Proves Problematic

While sometimes necessary, exclusive reliance on traditional law firms presents its own challenges:

• 38% cite law firms' lack of commercial/business acumen
• 38% note that law firms provide conceptual rather than practical advice
• 33% mention lengthy onboarding processes unsuited for short-term needs
• 32% report that law firms don't prioritize their business appropriately

With top law firm rates surging 8.4% and midsize firms up 5.6% in 2024, DGCs must be increasingly selective in outsourcing legal matters, especially in an environment where budget optimization is critical.

The Three-Legged Stool: A Modern Resourcing Approach

The traditional binary model of in-house teams and external law firms is evolving into what our research identifies as a "three-legged stool" approach:

1. The Essential In-House Team: Core full-time legal professionals with enterprise knowledge who provide managerial scale and handle the team's core competency work.
2. The Traditional Law Firm Team: Firms engaged only for specific high-stakes matters, enterprise benchmarking, and exceptional situations requiring extensive resources.
3. The Flexible Legal Talent Team: On-demand talent with both Big Law experience and in-house acumen who can scale up quickly for new challenges, gap fills, work surges, and specialized projects.

This third leg—flexible legal talent—is becoming increasingly crucial as DGCs navigate the complexities of 2025. According to our research, 93% of DGCs believe they are more in touch with their departments' resourcing needs than their GCs, suggesting an opportunity for DGCs to advocate for more flexible resourcing models.

Why Flexible Legal Talent Addresses 2025's Unique Challenges

In a year of policy and regulatory change, flexible legal talent offers specific advantages:

Budget Optimization

• 37% of DGCs cite better value for every budgeted dollar as a key benefit
• 35% report greater efficiency than investing in another full-time lawyer
• The ability to scale capacity up or down as needed helps avoid excess costs while still accessing specialized knowledge

Speed and Adaptability

• 32% value quick onboarding, which is critical when responding to rapid regulatory changes
• 31% appreciate transparent communication and timeline clarity
• 30% cite easy administrative management, reducing overhead during transition periods

Specialized Expertise

• 35% value specialized industry and practice knowledge
• 32% appreciate practical rather than conceptual advice
• This targeted expertise allows legal departments to quickly respond to specific regulatory changes without long-term commitment

A Year of Opportunity Amid Change

While a changing administration brings uncertainty, it also creates opportunities for forward-thinking legal departments. Those who embrace flexible resourcing models position themselves to:

• Respond more quickly to regulatory changes
• Optimize budgets in uncertain economic conditions
• Provide developmental opportunities for key legal talent
• Deliver greater value to the organization as a whole

As 2025 unfolds, the DGCs who successfully navigate these challenges will be those who leverage all available resources—including flexible legal talent—to create capacity for both operational excellence and strategic growth.

Ready to optimize your legal department's resources for 2025's changing landscape? Download our full report to explore comprehensive data and strategies for navigating resource constraints while building the skills needed to advance your career.

*Axiom commissioned Wakefield Research, a leading global market research organization, to survey 200 in-house deputy general counsel across the United States and United Kingdom.