General Counsels Accelerate Technology Adoption to Tackle Compliance Pressures
Wilmington, Del., United States: Technology and automation upgrades top GCs' strategic agenda this year
97% have already adopted generative AI tools
72% anticipate rising legal and regulatory costs over the next three years
General counsels (GCs) across the globe are rapidly adopting technology, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), to optimize legal operations and stay on top of growing compliance pressures. This is according to new research conducted among 350 GCs and legal compliance officers across key global markets commissioned by CSC, the world's leading provider of global business administration and compliance solutions.
CSC's study1, General Counsel Barometer 2025, reveals that upgrading technology and automation sits firmly at the top of legal departments' strategic priorities for the year ahead. The majority of legal departments (97%) are already using generative AI, with 49% saying the technology is significantly helping their legal teams.
The most widely reported benefits of AI tools include handling larger volumes of work more efficiently (66%), improving processing times (40%), and enhancing fraud detection and risk management (41%)—highlighting technology's role in easing pressure on stretched legal teams and strengthening operational resilience.
'Even a year ago, everyone was interested in AI, but at the same time, were still standing on the sidelines and asking how trustworthy it was,' said Thijs van Ingen, global head of Corporate Solutions at CSC. 'We're now seeing real added value and productivity gains, particularly in complex areas like M&A. The shift towards tech-enabled partners shows GCs are acting decisively to modernize their departments in the face of mounting operational pressure.'
Yet confidence is tempered by caution. 72% of GCs have implemented internal governance policies to manage AI use, citing fraud, data privacy, and third-party risks as their top concerns.
'AI is here to stay—but responsible use is key,' added Ian McConnel, chief legal officer at CSC. 'GCs are rightly focused on governance, accuracy, and data integrity. As legal teams evolve, they're becoming leaders in embedding safe, effective AI into core business processes—but success will depend on ensuring the data sets behind these tools are both accurate and robust.'
These shifts are happening against a backdrop of rising compliance demands. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of GCs expect legal and regulatory costs to increase in the next three years, yet only 27% say they feel 'very prepared' for new requirements such as expanded beneficial ownership disclosures. The changing regulatory landscape was cited as the number one risk to legal operations in 2025.
As well as embracing technology, nearly six-in-10 (58%) GCs report increased outsourcing to specialist partners—a move driven by resourcing constraints and the need for scalable, tech-enabled support across multiple jurisdictions.
'As organizations pursue global expansion, GCs are leading the charge,' adds van Ingen. 'By embedding smarter systems and forming strategic partnerships, GCs are playing a pivotal role in helping their organizations manage risk, drive efficiency, and scale legal operations globally. This marks a defining shift in the role of legal function, where GCs are guiding their organizations into a more agile, tech-enabled future.'
To receive a copy of CSC's General Counsel Barometer 2025 report, please contact Hassan Ali at [email protected] .
1CSC, in partnership with Pure Profile, surveyed 350 general counsels and legal compliance officers in the Americas, Europe including UK, and Asia Pacific in 2025. Survey respondents were drawn from a range of industry sectors including communications, banking and financial services, healthcare, insurance, law, and real estate.
About CSC
CSC is the trusted partner of choice for more than 90% of the Fortune 500®, more than 90% of the 100 Best Global Brands (Interbrand®), and more than 70% of the PEI 300. We are the world's leading provider of global business administration and compliance solutions, specialized administration services to alternative asset managers across a range of fund strategies, transactions involving capital markets participants in both public and private markets, domain name system management and digital brand and fraud protection, and corporate tax software solutions. Founded in 1899 and headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, CSC prides itself on being privately held and professionally managed for more than 125 years. CSC has office locations and capabilities in more than 140 jurisdictions across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. We are a global company capable of doing business wherever our clients are—and we accomplish that by employing experts in every business we serve. We are the business behind business®. Learn more at cscglobal.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250519574808/en/
Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
5 House settlement changes college fans will notice immediately
It's a new dawn in the world of college athletics. On Friday night the long-awaited $2.8 billion House settlement was approved, officially ushering in an era where schools can directly pay players. Immediately after the landmark agreement, a number of new entities and executives emerged to lead college sports into the future. While this is all expected to play out in the coming months and years, there is already A LOT of moving pieces. Advertisement You can read all about what's included in the settlement here, but if you're looking for a quick breakdown of some of the more immediate changes, we've got you covered. Here are the people, terms and regulations you need to know about. The College Sports Commission Jun 4, 2024; Eugene, OR, USA; A NCAA logo flag at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Say goodbye to the NCAA's wildly unpopular enforcement and penalty process, and say hello to its replacement: the newly-created College Sports Commission. You're going to be hearing about it a lot when it officially begins operations on July 1, 2025. Here's what the new oversight authority will be in charge of policing, per USA TODAY's Steve Berkowitz: ▶Rules-making. ▶Managing the NIL Go system, an electronic system that athletes will be required to use to report the details of their NIL deals with entities other than their schools. ▶Figuring out how to determine the legitimacy of those deals, and how to deal with appeals by athletes, who — under the settlement — can seek arbitration if they want to challenge a determination that a deal is not legitimate relative to having a 'valid business purpose' and being within 'a reasonable range of compensation.' ▶Forming a new regulatory and enforcement entity that will be led newly named chief executive officer Bryan Seeley. According to the announcement of his hiring on June 6, Seeley "will build out the organization's investigative and enforcement teams and oversee all of its ongoing operations and stakeholder relationships. … Seeley and his team will also be responsible for enforcement of the new rules around revenue sharing, student-athlete third-party name image and likeness (NIL) deals, and roster limits. The Commission will investigate potential rules violations, make factual determinations, issue penalties where appropriate, and participate in the neutral arbitration process set forth in the settlement as necessary." Advertisement Speaking of enforcement, the CSC is expected to resolve any investigations within 45 days — a major shift from the long, drawn out NCAA investigations fans have come to expect. The CSC's CEO can be the judge, jury and executioner here with the ability to impose fines and penalties. College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley For all intents and purposes, Seeley is the new top dog when it comes to college sports compliance. He was hired by the four power conference commissioners (ACC's Jim Phillips, Big Ten's Tony Petitti, Big 12's Brett Yormark and SEC's Greg Sankey). So here's the skinny, per ESPN's Jeff Passan and Pete Thamel: Seeley is MLB's executive vice president, legal & operations, and he brings investigative experience, which will be key in this role. In the post-settlement era, the NCAA will no longer be in charge of the enforcement of most rules. (It will still maintain purview over things like academics, but it will not patrol benefits.) The CSC is the new era's enforcement arm that will have final say in doling out punishments and deciding when rules have been broken. It's one of the most important roles in this new era, as the industry has been craving some type of guidance since the advent of name, imagine and likeness has made the descriptor "wild, wild west" a common one in regard to the generally unregulated college sports industry. In a formal announcement, Seeley's job is described as having to "build out the organization's investigative and enforcement teams and oversee all of its ongoing operations and stakeholder relationships." Per the release: "Seeley and his team will also be responsible for enforcement of the new rules around revenue sharing, student-athlete third-party name image and likeness (NIL) deals, and roster limits." Advertisement Some more quick facts about Seeley: 42 years old Joined MLB as Vice President, Investigations & Deputy General Counsel in 2014 Served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington D.C. from 2006-2014, prosecuting white-collar crimes, fraud and corruption Attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School NIL GO Mar 22, 2025; Birmingham AL, USA; LSU gymnast LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne walks with teammates to a competition area and gestures to fans during Session 2 of the SEC Gymnastics Championship at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. LSU won the event to claim the SEC crown. No, this is not the latest streaming service. It's a clearinghouse established by Deloitte to handle number-crunching and maintain compliance between schools, athletes and third parties. It will also fall under the CSC's purview. Per ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan: LBi Software and accounting firm Deloitte have been lined up to handle salary cap management and to manage the clearinghouse for NIL. Those NIL deals will be outside of the revenue share directly from schools, and how they are approved has been the focus of much conversation around college sports. The clearinghouse that Deloitte has established will be known as NIL Go, which will be used to verify whether deals between athletes and boosters or associated entities are for a valid business purpose rather than a recruiting incentive. Whether or not a school opts in to provide NIL payments to athletes, any Division I athletes who signs an NIL deal worth $600 or more will have to go through NIL GO. Salary Cap And Roster Limits Michigan players huddle during warm up ahead of the Rose Bowl game against Alabama at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. Yep, it's happening in college sports. Schools will start with a $20.5 million cap that's set to increase by four percent annually, with a notable caveat, per Berkowitz: In Years 4, 7 and 10, new baselines would be established based on the defined set of Power Five athletics department revenues. However, under certain circumstances connected to the timing and value of media rights contracts, the plaintiffs' lawyers have two options during the 10-year settlement period to have new baselines set more quickly. Advertisement The settlement was temporarily help up in court by the issue of roster limits, as programs already began cutting walk-ons and other players in anticipation of the salary cap. That was resolved through a "grandfathering" agreement that will delay some roster limits if players were already promised a spot. Per CBS Sports: [U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken] asked attorneys to craft a plan to allow current players to be "grandfathered in" with the new roster limits. The NCAA, power conferences and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit instead offered a compromise: schools have the option to keep current players on their rosters and temporarily exceed new limits until their eligibility expires. The new roster limits were expected to lead to the cutting of nearly 5,000 athletes from teams across the NCAA's 43 sponsored sports. Some sports will increase roster limits compared to previous years, but many will be trimmed despite offering unlimited scholarships within those new thresholds. Football rosters will shrink to 105 players, resulting in schools cutting more than 20 players, though most schools are expected to exceed those limits by grandfathering in current athletes. March 1 Deadline For Non-Power 5 Schools Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Ben Gregg (33) celebrates with guard Ryan Nembhard (0) and guard Nolan Hickman (11) after a play in the first half of a first round men's NCAA Tournament game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The start of March has now become one of the most crucial days on the sports calendar as non-Power 5 schools will have to declare by then whether or not they are opting into revenue sharing for the following academic year. Per the CSC: All current members of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC are participating in the new revenue sharing model overseen by the College Sports Commission. Division I schools from other conferences can choose to 'opt in' to revenue sharing and must formally do so by June 15, 2025, at which point a full list of participating schools will be made public. Each year, schools outside of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC will have the option to opt in to or out of revenue sharing. These schools must notify the NCAA if they will opt in to (or opt out of) revenue sharing for the upcoming academic year by March 1 of each year. In order to opt out, an institution must have fulfilled any relevant obligations to student-athletes and all revenue sharing - or incremental increases in scholarship - must cease. It is important to note that regardless of whether an institution opts in to revenue sharing, all Division I student-athletes will be subject to the new rules and requirements around third-party NIL deals. Advertisement This is a whole new world of college athletics and there's a lot to process here. We'll continue to break down all the developments over the coming months (and years). This article originally appeared on For The Win: 5 House settlement changes college fans will notice immediately
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Guilford County Schools bond dollars will only get half of priority projects done
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Think back to 2020 and 2022 when you had a question on your ballot about bond dollars for the school district. Voters approved $2 billion for Guilford County Schools to make massive and much-needed updates to its facilities. The master plan came out in 2019. Those were pre-pandemic prices. But now, in 2025, things have changed, and there is no way the district will get all 51 of their top priority projects done with the cash they have on hand. 'The writing was kind of on the wall,' Superintendent of GCS Dr. Whitney Oakley said. She said when they returned from the pandemic, they knew this would be tricky, but in the 2021 to 2022 school year, it really sunk in that this is the new reality of pricing. 'No one had a crystal ball about construction. I can't go to Lowe's and get a piece of wood or go to the gas station and fill up for what it cost in 2019,' Oakley said. Now, with tariffs on the table, pricing is even more unpredictable. 'We are constantly evaluating how far those dollars will go, how we can use some strategies like replicating a building plan … If you think about the Allen Jay and Sumner that are coming up, they have the same layout, which saves in design,' Oakley said. In the 2019 facilities master plan, there are 51 priority projects listed to use the bond dollars. But because of rising costs, Oakley said they won't get very far down that list with the $2 billion. There are four projects no longer needed, so Oakley expects they will make it to about halfway down to project 25 on the list, which leaves about 25 projects in limbo. 'It was decades in the making, and it is going to take decades to get out … I think we need to think about how we make a more predictable stream to be able to continue to do the work because the buildings didn't get in that condition overnight,' Oakley said. It starts with the ballot. Oakley said she wants to see bond referendums more often to keep cash flowing. 'I think putting energy and resources behind being able to say what dollars are for on the ballot increases transparency, increases accountability, and our community stands behind public education,' Oakley said. You can look at the list of priority projects to see if your school's project could be funded. Today, everything before project 25 should be funded. With tariff impacts, that could change. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Upturn
4 days ago
- Business Upturn
CSC, SURF and Nokia Achieve 1.2 Tbit/s Data Transfer to prepare long haul network for new LUMI-AI supercomputer and AI Factories
By GlobeNewswire Published on June 4, 2025, 11:00 IST Press Release CSC, SURF and Nokia Achieve 1.2 Tbit/s Data Transfer to prepare long haul network for new LUMI-AI supercomputer and AI Factories Trial helps researchers prepare network for high performance computing (HPC) clusters and AI Factories handling massive datasets and high-intensity workloads. Results confirm that multi-domain, high-capacity data transfers across European research networks are both feasible and future-ready. 4 June 2025 Espoo, Finland – Nokia, CSC – IT Center for Science and SURF have successfully tested a high-capacity, quantum-safe fibre-optic connection exceeding 1.2 terabit per second (Tbit/s) between Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Kajaani, Finland with data traversing over 3500 kilometers. The trial, which was conducted in May 2025, demonstrated the potential of ultra-fast, cross-border connectivity for research. Tests were carried out along several routes, including the longest which spanned 4,700 km through Norway at a capacity of 1Tbit/s. To put this in perspective, 1 Tbit/s is enough to stream 200,000 full HD movies (at 5 Mbit/s each) simultaneously. These results are particularly promising as the research community prepares for supercomputers and AI Factories to come online – where reliable, scalable, and secure connections will be critical to supporting some of the world's largest datasets and most demanding workloads. The test used a combination of real research data and synthetic data, transferred directly from disk to disk – from SURF's facility in Amsterdam to CSC's data center in Kajaani, across five production research and education networks: SURF (the Netherlands), NORDUnet (Nordic backbone), Sunet (Sweden), SIKT (Norway) and Funet (CSC's network in Finland). The network solution was based on Nokia's IP/MPLS routing and quantum-safe optical networking gear. Nokia's IP technology successfully demonstrated Flexible Ethernet (FlexE) to accommodate 'elephant flows', or very large continuous flows of data, and its high-capacity optical transport technology showed the ability to handle massive data sets generated by HPCs over long distances. With the exponential growth of research data, especially for training large-scale AI models, the need for resilient, high-throughput and secure connectivity is more critical than ever. This test confirms that multi-domain, high-capacity data transfers across European research networks are both feasible and future-ready. Testing an operational network connection over long distances provides unique insights into data transport and storage of large data volumes. The tests are crucial for improving the infrastructure for data-intensive research. 'We design research networks with future needs in mind. CSC's data center in Kajaani already hosts the pan-European LUMI supercomputer and with the upcoming LUMI-AI supercomputer and AI Factory coming online, reliable and scalable data connections throughout Europe are essential. Even though the geographical distance is significant, it poses no obstacle to data traffic,' said Jani Myyry, Senior Network Specialist, CSC. 'As SURF we are ready to take the next step in aligning the European supercomputers. These efforts offer future perspectives to train GPT-nl on LUMI or for a researcher to compute on LUMI with very large datasets hosted at SURF, such as the KNMI (The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) datasets. We are very grateful to our Nordic partners for their help setting up this trial connection. This is again an example of the continued good cooperation between NRENs to create the best possible international infrastructure for research and education,' said Arno Bakker, Senior Network Specialist, SURF. 'Groundbreaking trials like this highlight how advanced networks are foundational to unlocking the full potential of AI and high-performance computing. This successful collaboration with CSC and SURF is a testament to the innovation and leadership of the scientific community, and to what's possible when we work together. As the network prepares for the next wave of supercomputers and AI Factories, we are proud to deliver the quantum-safe, high-capacity, and resilient IP/MPLS and optical infrastructure that makes these systems viable. We look forward to continuing our support for global research and education networks, helping them scale with confidence and drive the next generation of discovery and innovation,' said Mikhail Lenko, Customer Solutions Architect, Nokia. Resources and additional informationProduct Page: 7750 Service RouterProduct Page: 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS)Product Page: 1830 Photonic Service Interconnect – Modular (PSI-M) Web Page: Quantum-safe networks About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation. With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. About CSC – IT Center for Science CSC is a Finnish center of expertise in ICT that provides world-class services for research, education, culture, public administration and enterprises, to help them thrive and benefit society at large. About SURF SURF is the ICT cooperative of Dutch education and research institutions. The members, the owners of SURF, join forces to develop or procure the best possible digital services, work together on complex innovation issues and develop and share knowledge with each other. SURF actively collaborates with other European NRENs united in GÉANT and participates in global consortia like the Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) and Asia Pacific Europe Ring (AER). NetherLight, SURF's Global Exchange Point (GXP) dedicated to research and education data in Amsterdam connects similar GXPs and advanced high-capacity networks for scientific and educational collaboration. The NetherLight GXP plays a major and vital role in the federation of research and education networks worldwide, also known as the Global Research and Education Network (GREN). Media inquiriesNokia Press Office Email: [email protected] Nokia Media RelationsSarah MillerPhone: +1 613-720-9716 Email: [email protected] CSC Media RelationsSanna KostiainenPhone: +358 40 0712072 Email: [email protected] SURF SpokespersonTom HovenPhone: +31 641 439 398 Email: [email protected] Follow us on social media LinkedIn X Instagram Facebook YouTube Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. GlobeNewswire provides press release distribution services globally, with substantial operations in North America and Europe.
