In-house Counsel

Opinion Letters Are Privileged, Calif. High Court Rules

The California Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, ruled that factual information in letters from outside counsel to corporate counsel is just as privileged as legal advice. “Although exercise of the privilege may occasionally result in the suppression of relevant evidence, the legislature of this state has determined that these…

Dec 2, 2009 11:23 PM CST

DynCorp Fires Top Compliance Lawyer in Wake of Foreign Bribery Probe

Defense contractor DynCorp International Inc. has fired its top compliance lawyer amid an internal investigation into whether its employees bribed foreign government agencies. The fired lawyer, Curtis Schehr, had joined the company in 2006 as general counsel, Corporate Counsel reports. In a Nov. 9 report, DynCorp disclosed that subcontractors may…

Dec 2, 2009 3:41 PM CST

The Empty (In-)House

SEC commissioner warns against corporate-law cutbacks

Dec 2, 2009 2:19 AM CST

What In-House Counsel Want: Relationship Building and Quick Answers

Sometimes legal costs aren’t the most important thing to in-house counsel selecting their outside lawyers. In-house lawyers also want law firms that are willing to take the initiative to build the relationship, according to a National Law Journal report on a recent panel discussion in Boston. The panel at the…

Nov 23, 2009 7:42 PM CST

64% of Law Departments Have or Will Implement Rate Freezes, Survey Says

Companies are trying to cut their legal budgets, and it’s affecting in-house lawyers whose salaries are frozen and outside law firms asked to reduce rates and offer alternatives to hourly rates. Alternative fees have been touted as the up-and-coming way to reduce outside legal costs. But law departments are trying…

Nov 20, 2009 3:30 PM CST

B of A Officials Say Firing of GC Was Just a Corporate Downsizing

Bank of America officials told a skeptical congressional panel yesterday that the abrupt firing of the company’s general counsel late last year was just part of a general corporate downsizing. For his part, former general counsel Timothy Mayopoulos says he was given no reason for his dismissal last Dec. 10,…

Nov 18, 2009 12:38 PM CST

Secret ACC Ratings Appear on Blog; Group Says Release Is ‘Premature’

New law firm ratings by in-house counsel were supposed to have been secret, accessible only to the 25,000 members of the Association of Corporate Counsel, at least for now. Law firms wouldn’t see their one- to five-star rankings until more information was available, they were told, and the rankings were…

Nov 17, 2009 2:07 PM CST

How B of A’s GC Got Fired: Leave Now, and Leave Your BlackBerry Behind

Bank of America’s former general counsel Timothy Mayopoulos says he was stunned when he learned last December that he was being fired as his employer was preparing to acquire Merrill Lynch. Mayopoulos said no reason was given for his dismissal, and he still doesn’t know why it happened. Since Mayopoulos’…

Nov 17, 2009 1:08 PM CST

Like Corporate Cousins, City of Chicago Seeks Lower Outside Legal Fees

It isn’t just in-house counsel at large corporations who are leaning on private law firms to lower their hourly legal fees. The city of Chicago has also done so, and now pays its outside counsel a top billable rate of $250 an hour, down from $295, reports the Chicago Tribune.…

Nov 16, 2009 10:33 PM CST

PepsiCo Off Hook for $1.26B as Court Reverses Default Judgment

A default judgment that required PepsiCo to pay $1.26B to two men who claimed the soft-drink giant stole their idea for bottled water was overturned today by a Wisconsin court. PepsiCo, which received material about the lawsuit at an office in the state in which it is incorporated, rather than…

Nov 7, 2009 12:50 AM CST

Exploding Text-Harassment Cases Create Pitfalls for Defense Attorneys

As supervisors increasingly make objectionable comments to employees via text messages, resulting harassment cases over after-hours comments no longer are based simply on “he said, she said” evidence. But this seeming bonanza of proof for plaintiffs lawyers is surrounded by potential pitfalls for defense attorneys, according to a Texas Lawyer…

Nov 6, 2009 11:43 PM CST

Congressman Wants to Know Why Bank of America Hired GC with Inactive License

A congressman investigating Bank of America’s purchase of Merrill Lynch wants to know why the bank ousted its general counsel last December and hired a replacement with an inactive license. “This is another fact that leads me to believe there could be something rotten in the cotton,” U.S. Rep. Edolphus…

Nov 5, 2009 2:05 PM CST

UK Lawyers Set to Stock Supermarket Shelves for Client, Delaying Case

Lawyers with the British law firm Pinsent Masons will be stocking supermarket shelves at Asda, delaying a trademark dispute involving the U.K. supermarket chain. Asda’s counsel, Hugh Cuddigan, asked the High Court to push back a January trial date because Pinsents lawyers were going to be busy stocking shelves over…

Nov 4, 2009 5:33 PM CST

PepsiCo: Busy Secty, Mislaid Docs to Blame for Missed Hearings & $1.26B Judgment

Things go better with a smooth document tracking system, PepsiCo has learned. PepsiCo says it didn’t defend a lawsuit claiming it stole the idea for purified, bottled water because of mislaid documents and poor communications that kept the legal department in the dark until more than three months after the…

Oct 28, 2009 2:38 PM CDT

Ex-Anheuser Exec, a Lawyer, Sues Over Alleged Pay Bias, ‘Frat Party’ Atmosphere

A lawyer who formerly served as a top-ranking female executive at Anheuser-Busch InBev NV has sued the brewery giant for gender bias, contending that it paid women less than men and restricted their opportunities for growth while maintaining a “frat party” atmosphere. Francine Katz, who left the company late last…

Oct 27, 2009 11:54 PM CDT