4 ms·

Yes, massive companies are a nest of conflicting priorities. The sales team wants to do whatever it takes to win the deal, and the legal team wants everyone to

Yes, massive companies are a nest of conflicting priorities. The sales team wants to do whatever it takes to win the deal, and the legal team wants everyone to behave ethically at all times. The board wants to be shocked(!) when it turns out those goals are in conflict, with the ethical side sometimes losing out, to remove any personal risk to themselves.

mistrial9 2y ago
> legal team wants everyone to behave ethically at all times do you really believe that? compliance under scrutiny, more like it
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  The best job is sitting around and doing nothing. So ideally yes. But sure, ethically speaking when things get heated they will exploit every loophole they can find to avoid liability. So, lawful evil?
  - sophacles 2y ago
    > The best job is sitting around and doing nothing. That sounds like a terrible job.
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      Well you can take it as literally or figuratively as you wish. Depends on the person.
  - mmcdermott 2y ago
    Most corporate law guidance is about risk mitigation, not about ethics. Less activity generally translates to less risk. You can see a similar phenomenon with security professionals. True, the only secure computer is one disconnected from the Internet, turned off, put in a Faraday cage, on the moon, under armed guard - but that's not useful.
    - debatem1 2y ago
      > under armed guard Get rid of the guard. They might turn the computer on.
  - Hasu 2y ago
    Even if everyone in the company magically complied with the wishes of the legal department, they would still have work to do. Defending the company against frivolous lawsuits and incoming regulations, suing competitors and other bad actors outside of the company, writing and evaluating contracts, and any internal legal consultation needed.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- potatolicious 2y ago
  Having worked with many lawyers... for the most part, yeah. Legal wants you to behave ethically at all times, not because they necessarily have some ideological commitment to ethics (though some do), but because it keeps the company out of lawsuits. The overwhelming goal of a company's legal department is "don't get sued", followed by "if sued, lose as little money/leverage as possible". In general the lawyer in the room is going to be far more risk-averse than the engineers, product people, sales people, or marketers. The trick is that outside of some limited circumstances the legal department at companies are not the final say. Many lawyers who "go in house" (i.e., quit a private outside firm and go work directly for a company) find this frustrating. They come into a room, say "don't do that", and then a few weeks/months/years later someone did it and now they have to prepare for a lawsuit.

mistrial9 2y ago

> legal team wants everyone to behave ethically at all times do you really believe that? compliance under scrutiny, more like it

johnnyanmac 2y ago
The best job is sitting around and doing nothing. So ideally yes. But sure, ethically speaking when things get heated they will exploit every loophole they can find to avoid liability. So, lawful evil?
- sophacles 2y ago
  > The best job is sitting around and doing nothing. That sounds like a terrible job.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    Well you can take it as literally or figuratively as you wish. Depends on the person.
- mmcdermott 2y ago
  Most corporate law guidance is about risk mitigation, not about ethics. Less activity generally translates to less risk. You can see a similar phenomenon with security professionals. True, the only secure computer is one disconnected from the Internet, turned off, put in a Faraday cage, on the moon, under armed guard - but that's not useful.
  - debatem1 2y ago
    > under armed guard Get rid of the guard. They might turn the computer on.
- Hasu 2y ago
  Even if everyone in the company magically complied with the wishes of the legal department, they would still have work to do. Defending the company against frivolous lawsuits and incoming regulations, suing competitors and other bad actors outside of the company, writing and evaluating contracts, and any internal legal consultation needed.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
potatolicious 2y ago
Having worked with many lawyers... for the most part, yeah. Legal wants you to behave ethically at all times, not because they necessarily have some ideological commitment to ethics (though some do), but because it keeps the company out of lawsuits. The overwhelming goal of a company's legal department is "don't get sued", followed by "if sued, lose as little money/leverage as possible". In general the lawyer in the room is going to be far more risk-averse than the engineers, product people, sales people, or marketers. The trick is that outside of some limited circumstances the legal department at companies are not the final say. Many lawyers who "go in house" (i.e., quit a private outside firm and go work directly for a company) find this frustrating. They come into a room, say "don't do that", and then a few weeks/months/years later someone did it and now they have to prepare for a lawsuit.