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| LAW DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT |
| | | | | | | | 3-2010
Strategic Priorities for General Counsel in 2010
The year 2010 is shaping up to be a "best of times, worst of times" year for general counsel. On the one hand, GCs -- and the senior lawyers and professionals who help them lead their law departments -- are under extraordinary pressure to reduce costs. Of course, there is nothing new in the expectation that in-house lawyers should "do more with less." It has been expressed repeatedly over the past two decades, especially in times of economic distress. What is new is the extent to which law departments have been forced to reduce total legal costs and to find new ways to operate more efficiently.
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| | | | | | | | 6-2009
Facing Facebook and Tweeting with Twitter
GCs Come Up Against Social Networking Sites, Like It or Not
What are you doing? In 140 characters or less: "I am writing an article on the impact of social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, on in-house counsel for GC Mid-Atlantic."
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| | | | | | | | 3-2009
Yes, Now IS the Right Time to Add Headcount
Hiring Can Improve Morale, Boost the Talent Pool and Save Money
Given today's tough economy, most in-house legal departments are working under mandates to reduce expenses, including their outside counsel spending.
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| | | | | | | | 11-2008
Relationship Requirements
GCs Say They Crave Communication, Efficiency in Outside Counsel
In the client-attorney relationship, just like any other, there is no substitute for closeness and communication.
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| | | | | | | | 6-2008
No JD Required
Best Practices for Using Non-Attorney Staff in the Law Department
Not everything in the law department needs to be done by a lawyer. As more and more cost-conscious general counsel come to this conclusion, more and more of them are hiring non-lawyers to fill key roles in their departments.
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| | | | | | | | 6-2008
Cut-Rate Counsel?
Firms Offer Lower-Cost Alternatives to Top-Rate Attorneys
It's no secret that many corporate counsel are fed up with high outside counsel costs. Business pressures to cut legal costs, coupled with outrage over rising associate salaries, have led some corporate counsel to cry foul and some firms to offer lower-cost alternatives to top-rate attorneys.
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| | | | | | | | 6-2008
The Odd Couple: Can GCs and CFOs Play Nicely?
It's a relationship that often gets a bad rep. In some cases, the working relationship between general counsel and the company's chief financial officer is painted as tense and fraught with conflicts and challenges.
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| | | | | | | | 6-2008
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Navigating the Business Side of Law Department Management
General counsel are finding themselves more and more between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Not the usual rock and hard place of complex legal matters, where they are dealing with high-stakes litigation, navigating increasingly difficult regulatory issues, and assuming more responsibility and accountability for compliance requirements and Securities and Exchange Commission matters. On the legal side of the pressure cooker — the side on which most general counsel are relatively comfortable — it's business as usual.
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| | | | | | | | 9-2007
Business as Usual: Hourly Billing Remains the Gold Standard
The legal profession has been talking about the use of alternative fee arrangements for decades. Books have been written, articles published and conferences held on the topic. So why does hourly billing remain the standard form of fee arrangement between law firms and their corporate clients?
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| | | | | | | | 7-2007
The Corporate Credentials Question
Is Your Department Complying With State Attorney Licensing Requirements?
Are all the in-house counsel in your legal department properly licensed in your state? Just as importantly, are you?
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| | | | | | | | 7-2007
The Diversity Debate
Are General Counsel's Diversity Efforts Counterproductive or Worse — Illegal?
Diversity — both within their law departments and at the law firms they employ — has become increasingly important to general counsel, and many companies have undertaken affirmative efforts to prompt outside counsel to increase diversity at their firms or risk losing their business.
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| | | | | | | | 5-2007
Outside In
Hiring Outside Counsel for In-house Positions
For many companies, it would seem like a natural progression. The company identifies the need for an in-house attorney — either its first or an additional lawyer for an existing law department — and looks to hire one of its outside counsel from a private law firm for the job.
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| | | | | | | | 1-2007
Paving a New Road: Why Companies Hire Their First General Counsel
As the first general counsel of a start-up bio-medical company, Gary Arlen Smith had a challenging yet rewarding road ahead of him. "I would have the opportunity and excitement of building an organization from the ground up and creating something out of nothing," says Smith of his position at Tengion Inc., a leading regenerative medicine company in Pennsylvania. Smith joined Tengion in April 2005, shortly after the company was formed.
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| | | | | | | | 9-2006
Everyday Workers
Law Departments Hire Contract Attorneys for Day-to-Day Tasks
Contract attorney: an extra pair of hands to help with litigation, due diligence or heavy document review. That used to be the definition. Law departments hired contract attorneys only for big, temporary projects that required extra bodies. But there's a new trend in contract work.
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