When it comes to proactively managing careers, in-house counsel, like everyone else, tend to avoid addressing change unless absolutely forced to. You may not be sure what to expect from your position or how your position differs from other in-house counsel positions. The criteria here will help you determine whether it is time to move on to a new in-house counsel position.
The challenge for most legal departments today is daunting: Do it more, do it quickly, do it with fewer in-house staff, and, above all, keep costs down. Many law departments have come to appreciate that the cultivation of a staff of nonlawyers is as important-if not more important-than staffing corridors of offices full of JDs with sterling credentials. It's a lot less expensive, too.
If you had only known you can learn everything you need to know about surviving the transition to in-house law practice from Duran Duran, The Breakfast Club, and Prince, you might have spent a lot more time at concerts than in the library during the 1980s, right? Phil Strauss translates the lessons in his guide to the facts of in-house life.
Two case studies of in-house counsel's efforts to use business techniques to productively and efficiently manage complex lawsuits while optimizing the use of limited financial resources in order to achieve the best result.
Cutting legal costs is still a high priority with many a CEO, and there's a new tool to do so: procurement analyst, or strategic sourcing professional. With novel ideas about the best vehicle(s) for buying professional services, their ideas that can either make CLOs uneasy or excited. Learn what strategic sourcing can do for your department's budget, before the CEO comes knocking with a sourcing consultant in tow.
This article explains that depending on how you handled the document production, inadvertently produced documents may retain their privileged status after disclosure. Also, depending on how obvious their privileged nature is, opposing counsel may have an ethical obligation to refrain from using them until a court finds a waiver has occurred.
Make sure you know how to conduct an informal investigation properly to avoid adding to the problem.
GCs have a great opportunity to evolve their roles into that of a "lawyer-statesman." Learn to lead with concern about both private good and public interest.
Learn to better supervise the use of resources in patent studies, litigation and prosecution.
This article addresses whether outside investigative counsel are subject to the up-the-ladder reporting requirements of Part 205 or whether they ultimately retain control over that decision.