Better Together: When GCs and CFOs Collaborate for Strategic Impact, Law.com

In a Law.com article, New Era CEO and Co-Founder Rich Lee joins our Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Drost, to take a look at how collaboration between the general counsel and the CFO not only strengthens organizational performance but also drives strategic influence and career development for both leaders.

“In today’s environment, every executive is expected to do more than manage their department—they must drive strategic growth, optimize costs and proactively manage risk,” the authors write. “For general counsels and chief financial officers, these expectations are especially interconnected… Yet too often, the GC-CFO relationship is viewed through a narrow, transactional lens: finance approves legal’s budget; legal ensures compliance with financial disclosures… That’s a missed opportunity.”

When GCs and CFOs understand each other’s worlds – the business’s financial model and the legal team’s priorities – they make better decisions. Shared insight into revenue drivers, cost structures, risk posture, and outside-counsel management leads to more precise forecasting, stronger strategy, and more aligned, business-focused outcomes.

Rich and Kevin suggest that one of the easiest ways to foster stronger collaboration is to schedule recurring meetings between the GC and CFO, ideally once a quarter or more often as needed. In the article, the authors share a sample agenda.

“The relationship between the GC and CFO is no longer a back-office alliance – it’s a front-line strategic partnership,” they say.

Subscribers to Law.com can read Rich and Kevin’s column here.