In-house Counsel

Study finds law firms and corporations increasingly turning to alternative legal service providers

A majority of law firms and corporations are already using alternative legal service providers (ALSP) in at least one service category, and more intend to do so in the coming year. That was the main finding in a study released Tuesday by the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, in partnership…

Jan 31, 2017 2:00 PM CST

Reinventing Professionals: Where is the legal industry headed in 2017?

Ari Kaplan talks to a panel of industry leaders in a virtual roundtable about where the legal industry is headed and advice for navigating prospective 2017 challenges. They include: • Laura Broomell, COO of Greene Espel, and president of the Association of Legal Administrators • Ray English, assistant dean for…

Dec 23, 2016 7:30 AM CST

Partner profits increase even as law firm demand remains flat; is it an unsustainable model?

Law firm partners are reaping “soaring” profits amid flat demand for law firm services, creating “an unsustainable model” for law firms, according to the co-founder of a company that developed virtual workplace technology. Writing at Forbes, Mark Cohen says an increasing percentage of legal services are being provided outside of…

Dec 13, 2016 7:00 AM CST

Fired general counsel sues for alleged gender and age bias, claims pay talk was banned

A 61-year-old lawyer who was fired from her position as general counsel has sued her onetime employer for alleged age and gender bias. Roxanne Khazarian claims in the Oct. 25 suit (PDF) that there is a “good ol’ boy” network at her onetime employer, Gerald Metals, a commodities trading company…

Oct 26, 2016 12:08 PM CDT

Data on judges’ tendencies featured in new predictive analytics tool from Bloomberg Law

The increasingly crowded field of predictive judicial analytics tools has a new player.

Oct 19, 2016 5:05 PM CDT

Times lawyer is surprised by viral response to Trump letter; he wrote it in about 45 minutes

New York Times vice president and assistant general counsel David McCraw writes dozens of letters every year responding to lawyers who are unhappy with the newspaper’s coverage. McCraw says he knew his letter on Thursday to Donald Trump’s lawyer would be different, but he was surprised by the viral response.…

Oct 18, 2016 11:55 AM CDT

Are millennials job hoppers? In-house lawyers vary on the answer based on their generation

The perception that millennials are more likely than their elders to jump to new jobs is playing out in a survey of in-house lawyers. Surveyed baby boomers and Gen Xers were more likely to believe millennials would leave their jobs within five years than the millennials themselves, the Wall Street…

Sep 30, 2016 2:38 PM CDT

These law firms make up the litigation ‘fearsome foursome,’ general counsel survey finds

Which law firms do general counsel most fear in litigation? A telephone survey by BTI consulting asked general counsel, corporate litigation chiefs and other litigation decision makers that question. The four law firms most often named were: Dentons, Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden. Above the Law and the…

Sep 27, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Want law firm work-life balance? Parents and management should work together, says Justice Ginsburg

Parents in private practice should act together to decide what sort of offerings could help work-life balance, and law firms would be wise to accommodate the requests, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Wednesday, speaking to the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. “Firms don’t…

Sep 16, 2016 12:10 PM CDT

Association of Corporate Counsel honors efforts to control corporate legal costs

“We can’t go on like this” is an oft-heard expression of trouble on the horizon, but it took the financial crisis of 2008 to force meaningful changes in how corporate counsel work with outside firms. That year the Association of Corporate Counsel seized the initiative with its ACC Value Challenge,…

Sep 1, 2016 1:40 AM CDT

4th Circuit revives lawyer’s ‘glass ceiling’ suit against Booz Allen

A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit by a former in-house lawyer at Booz Allen Hamilton who alleged the consulting firm had a pattern of discriminating against older women. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in the suit filed by Carla Calobrisi, the National…

Aug 23, 2016 2:40 PM CDT

Lawyer quits Palo Alto planning board over housing costs; monthly rent in shared house was $6,200

A California lawyer is airing her reasons for quitting a Palo Alto government board: She can’t afford to live there. In a letter posted online, lawyer Kate Downing says the home she rents with her husband—and another couple—is $6,200 a month, report the Recorder (sub. req.) and the San Jose…

Aug 22, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Legal machines give lawyers the structure we need

Lawyers excel at creating structure. They can weave disparate facts and convoluted laws into a coherent narrative that persuades a judge or a jury. They can merge two unrelated entities while navigating a complex regulatory environment. They can transform inchoate business ideas into a comprehensive contract that covers contingencies that…

Aug 11, 2016 8:30 AM CDT

Federal Circuit appears unlikely to reverse order disqualifying company’s entire legal department

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit doesn’t appear inclined to reverse a federal judge’s order disqualifying the entire in-house legal department at Acacia Research Corp., a company known in some circles as a patent troll or a “patent privateer.” The Federal Circuit heard arguments last week on…

Aug 9, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

Disney’s top lawyer is best-paid general counsel

The top-paid general counsel works for the Walt Disney Co. and made about $7 million in total cash compensation last year. The lawyer is Alan Braverman, who received a pay boost from about $6.7 million in 2014, Corporate Counsel (sub. req.) reports. Its story is based on 2015 proxy filings…

Jul 20, 2016 8:30 AM CDT