Discusses DuPont's metrics - standards for monitoring individuals, organizations, or programs over time - that it uses to measure legal performance and validate assumptions about the department's working and bottomline effectiveness.
Five years ago, the DuPont Legal Model was a concept. Today it is a reality that has changed the company’s practice of law in a global, market-driven economy. Like the rest of the corporation, DuPont’s legal practice is managed to make money, not prove principles. Thomas Sager, of DuPont, explains how the model has brought DuPont’s legal department prominence as a leader of the survivors of the tumultuous nineties.
Karen Morton, of John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, and Kenneth Grooms analyze the recent Supreme Court decision in Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., which apparently expanded the scope of an employer’s potential liability under Section 704(a) of Title VII (commonly known as Title VII’s anti-retaliation clause).
Discusses corporate law department productivity including responding to the cost-cutting directive, productivity measures and reward systems, outside counsel, the question of make versus buy, and more.
No, this isn’t a futuristic discussion of how technology will replace your staff (so tell the kids to go back to their homework - you can handle this one yourself). John H. Ogden, of Werner & Pfleiderer Corporation and Krupp USA Financial Services imparts his down-to-earth strategies for making a virtual department out of part-time attorneys, legal research firms, contract attorneys, networking, and retained counsel.
A fictitious dialogue between inside and outside counsel in today’s world of alternative billing techniques, first-class airfares, unnecessary research and overstaffing.
There’s no doubt that the attorney-client and work product privileges are critical tools to ensure that your clients receive optimal advice. In this decidedly different strategy regarding the use of privilege, however, Laura Effel, of Baker & McKenzie, demonstrates why you may want to think twice about conducting certain privileged investigations.
The mobility of the workforce can be a downright menace for companies whose competitive edge depends on proprietary information, and whose doesn’t these days? If you think an employee agreement is sufficient protection against your client’s trade secrets walking out the door with departing employees, you may be wrong. David A. Schwab, of Medshares Management Group shares his secrets for preventing proprietary information from decamping to competitors.
This article highlights areas where the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and state workers' compensation laws overlap and conflict and offers practical considerations for employers.
Stephen C. Parker, of Prudential Insurance Company of America, takes a tip from production managers in this discussion of reengineering the legal function.