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Law Department Management |
Relationship Requirements
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GCs Say They Crave Communication, Efficiency in Outside Counsel
By Zack Needles
In the client-attorney relationship, just like any other, there is no substitute for closeness and communication.
That was the general consensus of the panel of general counsel the Metropolitan Philadelphia chapter of the Legal Marketing Association hosted in September at its "In-House Unplugged" event.
Scott Bovino, vice president and general counsel of Ewing, N.J.-based Universal Display Corp., said one thing that gets in the way of establishing a closeness with outside counsel is the "centralized attorney structure," in which all communication must go through a single relationship partner at the firm who, oftentimes, is not handling the bulk of the work.
Bovino said he prefers to have direct contact with the attorneys working on the case.
"That way, I know they consider me their client and I'm going to get attention," he says.
Which is not to say relationship partners can't be useful.
Charles Kallenbach, general counsel and chief legal officer of Princeton-based Heartland Payment Systems, said he often uses relationship partners as sounding boards for legal questions he's unsure of the answer to.
But there have been times when relationship partners have threatened to overshadow the rest of the outside attorneys working on a matter.
"I had to have a talk with a relationship partner about being too involved," he says.
Kallenbach said that, above all, his "biggest concern is efficiency," which means focusing on the outside counsel who are actually doing the work.
"My own personal preference is to keep lower-level associates and partners more involved and high-level partners less involved," he said.
Panelist Lorraine Koc, vice president and general counsel of Philadelphia-based Deb Shops Inc., said she finds relationship partners useful for directing her to other attorneys at the firm who are knowledgeable in any given area.
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