The function of the general counsel - and in wider terms, the legal in-house department - has undergone a remarkable change in recent years. Law as such is now understood as a valuable resource, not just as a limit on commercial activities, by businesses around the world. As a result, the way that the legal function is managed is coming under heightened scrutiny from the world of management.

This unique new handbook, produced in association with the International Bar Association, includes chapters by leading experts on a diverse range of topics, explaining how legal departments can best support the businesses they serve, devise astute legal strategies, collaborate with other departments to optimum effect and source the skill sets they need, among other things. The consulting editors, Chris Vaagt and Wolf Peter Gross, have both been advisers to legal departments since 1997.

The handbook has been compiled to reflect current changes and anticipate what may happen in the future. Readers - whether in-house counsel or private practitioners - will learn new and perhaps surprising lessons about the drivers for change in the traditional world of the business of law.