CIOs and chief legal officers need to communicate early and often to build a deeper relationship. Discussion topics include data privacy, e-discovery and policies for mobile devices. Corporate CIOs and chief legal officers (CLOs) have a lot to talk about: data privacy, e-discovery and policies for employee mobile devices, to name a few topics. But a recent Gartner survey of 70 CLOs found that over half (51 percent) of them said they have conversations with CIOs no more than once a month.The Gartner report recommends that CIOs and CLOs have regular, frequent and in-depth meetings so they can build a better relationship and understand each other’s requirements, capabilities and outstanding issues. Of the CLOs who talk to their CIOs more than once a month, large majorities said they had changed their legal strategies or corporate policies after the conversation.The study found that the polled CLOs consider CIOs to be important strategic partners. “Risk management is an increasingly important concern for CLOs, and they recognize that it requires significant input from IT,” the Gartner report says.But the CLOs complain that “CIOs are typically not engaged early enough or deeply enough in merger and acquisition activity,” the report says. The CLOs said that they’re generally satisfied with IT’s support of standard IT functions, but less satisfied with IT’s support for legal-specific technologies such as e-discovery and litigation support.Janis O’Bryan, CIO of Hudson Advisors, a commercial mortgage and real estate company, says she meets with her legal team on a regular basis regarding topics such as SEC regulations and global data privacy rules. O’Bryan adds that the equivalent of half a person on her IT team is responsible for e-discovery. “We deal with unhappy borrowers and distressed debt, so we are constantly [pulling records] for our legal team,” she says.The key to a better IT-legal relationship is to break down language barriers, O’Bryan says. IT must not only explain technology issues to the legal staff, she says, but also “be knowledgeable about risks and translate that to business language so the legal team can understand.” Related content brandpost Sponsored by Huawei 400G: Building bandwidth for the next lap By Jane Chan Nov 30, 2023 5 mins Networking feature 4 remedies to avoid cloud app migration headaches The compelling benefits of using proprietary cloud-native services come at a price: vendor lock-in. Here are ways CIOs can effectively plan without getting stuck. By Robert Mitchell Nov 29, 2023 9 mins CIO Managed Service Providers Managed IT Services case study Steps Gerresheimer takes to transform its IT CIO Zafer Nalbant explains what the medical packaging manufacturer does to modernize its IT through AI, automation, and hybrid cloud. By Jens Dose Nov 29, 2023 6 mins CIO SAP ServiceNow feature Per Scholas redefines IT hiring by diversifying the IT talent pipeline What started as a technology reclamation nonprofit has since transformed into a robust, tuition-free training program that seeks to redefine how companies fill tech skills gaps with rising talent. By Sarah K. White Nov 29, 2023 11 mins Diversity and Inclusion Hiring Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe