In-house Counsel

GC’s fix for ‘broken’ law firm profit structure: Cut associate billing rates

Paying top dollar for work done by leading partners at major law firms doesn’t bother Brian Brooks. But paying big bucks for associates and mid-level lawyers does, the Fannie Mae general counsel tells Bloomberg BNA in a lengthy interview. As billing rates for senior partners have escalated, “I’m perfectly willing…

Aug 11, 2015 3:00 PM CDT

Outsourcing company opens Austin office, part of onshoring trend

Legal outsourcing company Integreon has opened an office in Austin, Texas, providing more evidence that law firms and companies are increasingly sending their outsourced work to offices in the United States rather than overseas. The Austin office could employ as many as 300 people in the next few years, Corporate…

Jul 29, 2015 10:47 AM CDT

Dentons hires former general counsel for General Mills who pushed law firms for diversity

Dentons has hired former General Mills general counsel Roderick “Rick” Palmore, a 2009 ABA Journal Legal Rebel who promoted diversity in the legal profession. Palmore will serve as a senior counsel at Dentons, where he will advise corporations on risk management and governance issues, according to a press release. Palmore,…

Jul 22, 2015 11:13 AM CDT

Suit by former Glock general counsel claims outside lawyers, company founder tried to ruin him

A former general counsel of Glock Inc. claims in a federal lawsuit that company founder Gaston Glock Sr. and two outside lawyers tried to ruin him with a fabricated criminal prosecution. The plaintiff is Paul Jannuzzo, Glock’s general counsel from 1991 to 2003, who alleges a “multiyear campaign of private…

Jul 13, 2015 1:51 PM CDT

Hiring woes reported by two-thirds of surveyed lawyers with hiring authority

Lawyers with hiring authority are expressing frustration with their ability to find skilled legal professionals. Sixty-four percent of the lawyers surveyed by Robert Half Legal said finding skilled legal professionals is somewhat or very challenging, an increase of 14 percentage points from a similar survey six months ago, the New…

Jul 1, 2015 12:06 PM CDT

Suit by former in-house lawyer claims Broadcom executives ‘degrade and objectify women’

A laid-off in-house lawyer at Broadcom claims in a gender bias lawsuit (PDF) that Broadcom has a “pervasive male-preferential paradigm” that has led to barriers to advancement and a male-dominated workforce. The suit by Jennifer Davies, filed earlier this month in California federal court, says she was denied a promotion…

Jun 30, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Former in-house lawyer admits stealing $2.6M from his company

A former in-house lawyer who is being treated for a gambling addiction admitted on Tuesday that he stole $2.6 million from the New Jersey home health-care company that employed him. Matthew Neugeboren, 39, of Manalapan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in Trenton federal court to wire fraud and filing a false…

May 27, 2015 10:26 AM CDT

Alleged patent quotas spur whistleblower suit by fired L’Oreal in-house lawyer

A former in-house lawyer claims in a whistleblower lawsuit that L’Oreal USA forced him to choose between satisfying quotas for patent applications and ethics rules. The lawyer, Steven Trzaska, says he was fired from his position overseeing patents and business development for L’Oreal in December 2014, the New Jersey Law…

Apr 21, 2015 8:47 AM CDT

Test, teach lawyers tech skills, speakers at Techshow say

Corrected: When it comes to fulfilling their ethical obligation to keep abreast of developments in technology, lawyers are increasingly fighting a two-front war. On the one hand, they have to learn about new, cutting edge tools and methods and how they can affect their legal practice. On the other, they…

Apr 18, 2015 12:25 PM CDT

Judge tosses bias suit by former Booz Allen lawyer

A former lawyer at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. who was demoted in a restructuring can’t pursue her discrimination case against the management consulting company, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga dismissed the suit filed by Carla Calobrisi in a March 24 decision (PDF), the Blog of…

Mar 31, 2015 2:06 PM CDT

Firms of the future must orbit around the client

I recently received a strategy presentation from a very sophisticated law firm, which can be summarized in one, MBA-ish slide. The client is in the center planet, surrounded by “law firm” on top, and then other planets in an ecosystem representing what we have called the “unbundled” service providers like…

Mar 26, 2015 1:55 PM CDT

Bloomberg BNA unveils new business of law website

Bloomberg BNA has launched a new website dedicated to covering important issues and news relating to the business of law. Bloomberg BNA’s Big Law Business site, which went live on Thursday morning, will focus on the Am Law 200 law firms and the companies that they represent. The site, which…

Mar 5, 2015 9:00 AM CST

Former general counsel is at forefront as last 4 defendants in massive Vegas HOA case head to trial

After seven years of investigation, 37 guilty pleas and the suicides of three key targets, four remaining defendants are headed to trial this week in a massive federal investigation of homeowner associations in the Las Vegas area. Foremost among the quartet is Keith Gregory, one of two lawyers indicted in…

Feb 23, 2015 12:20 PM CST

Foreign companies losing discovery battles when their in-house counsel don’t meet US standards

In China, among other countries, in-house counsel aren’t required to have a law license. Nonetheless, lawyers say, it would be highly unusual for communications between in-house counsel and a client to be produced in litigation. However, the discovery rules change for foreign companies when they are involved in litigation in…

Feb 17, 2015 9:30 AM CST

Exec asked general counsel to pull up shirt but didn’t spot FBI body cam, news report says

An executive now federally charged in a New Jersey foreign-bribery case apparently feared that his general counsel might be recording device when the two met in 2012 at his Miami, Florida, condominium. But even after Joseph Sigelman asked attorney Gregory Weisman to pull up his shirt, Sigelman failed to spot…

Feb 4, 2015 2:20 PM CST