Gartner Says General Counsel Should Take Three Actions to Prepare for Regulatory Changes Ahead of New U.S. Administration

General counsel (GC) should take three actions to plan for changes to the regulatory landscape with a new U.S. administration, according to Gartner, Inc. The growing volume and complexity of regulatory agendas worldwide have increased concern about how regulatory change will impact corporate strategy for years to come.

“In-house legal teams should start mapping out government policy changes now to better prepare for risks and opportunities that will impact the organization,” said Laura Cohn, Director, Research, in the Gartner Legal and Compliance practice. “By assessing the organization’s exposure and response to significant changes and determining if early action is warranted, GC can help the business focus its scenario-planning efforts.”

GCs should take these three action plans for changes to the regulatory landscape, so they are prepared to report to the board, senior leaders, and other stakeholders when shifts occur. The three actions are: 

·       Map out government policy changes to anticipate risks and opportunities
·       Determine the organization’s exposure and response
·       Watch for new agency and cabinet appointments

To anticipate the risks and opportunities surrounding the government policy priorities of the incoming U.S. administration, GC should help senior leaders and the board determine the most business-critical regulations and policies. They should also identify where there’s a likely and significant difference between the new and old administrations.

GC should also determine which major regulations and policies might change and assess the impact. Especially so, given that regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. has intensified even before the election due to a series of Supreme Court decisions. 

Next, GC should work with business and functional stakeholders to identify risk and exposure to changing regulations and create a response. The GC can conduct an informal assessment to determine if early action is needed.

GC and stakeholders should determine whether to take early action on a disruption. For example, they can assess how quickly they could respond to a disruption, or how much of an impact the disruption would be on their organization.

Finally, GC should watch for new agency and cabinet appointments to get an early read on what the regulatory environment could look like under the new administration, especially for departments that have been critical to the business.

Gartner clients can read more in Trump Administration: How Legal Can Plan for Policy Changes.  Nonclients can access the report Prepare Your Organization for a New U.S. Presidential Administration.