In-house Counsel

New Top Lawyer for Bank of England

As the credit crunch hammers the UK’s financial system, the Bank of England has named Graham Nicholson, a mergers and acquisitions partner at London’s Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, as its in-house chief legal adviser. He is part of a team at the firm advising the bank on the nationalization of mortgage…

Oct 3, 2008 10:43 AM CDT

In Brave New Post-Boom World, Corporate Clients Now Want Value

Updated: The party obviously is over for a number of law firms recently flush with profits from formerly booming financial institutions, but a brave new world may await attorneys able and willing to adjust to the new regime. In a word, it’s now all about value, writes Paul Lippe, the…

Sep 30, 2008 7:29 PM CDT

GE Battles a Second In-House Lawyer in Court

Two in-house lawyers for General Electric are facing the company in courtroom battles. In the most recent case, fired lawyer Adriana Koeck is defending a GE lawsuit that seeks return of confidential e-mails, memos and legal opinions she is accused of misappropriating, Corporate Counsel reports. The company contends she gave…

Sep 30, 2008 6:32 PM CDT

Average Pay is Up for In-House Lawyers, as Their Numbers Dwindle

In-house lawyers make an average of $236,000 in pay and bonuses, up from $226,000, according to a new survey of 223 larger companies. But the pay increase comes at a time when in-house staffing is softening. The average cash compensation, including bonuses, amounts to about $700,000 for general counsel and…

Sep 30, 2008 4:32 PM CDT

Facebook’s New GC is Kirkland & Ellis Partner With GOP Ties

Facebook has made a surprise choice for its general counsel by going outside the Silicon Valley to choose a lawyer with Republican ties. The social networking site hired Kirkland & Ellis partner Theodore Ullyot, according to the Recorder and Daily Journal (sub. req.). The legal recruiter who handled the search,…

Sep 30, 2008 1:31 PM CDT

Firing Wasn’t on GC’s List of Possible Penalties for his Backdated Stock

Former McAfee general counsel Kent Roberts gave company executives a list of possible actions they could take against him for a date change on his stock options grant. The list, neatly written on hotel stationery, included alternatives such as terminating his stock options, reducing his bonus or even demoting him,…

Sep 25, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

Will Excessive Pay Claim be Among Financial Woes for Top Lehman Lawyer?

The financial fortunes of the chief legal officer for Lehman Brothers is worsening after the company’s bankruptcy filing. Chief legal officer Thomas Russo is among the investment bank’s executives who sold stock last week after its bankruptcy filing for the low price of seven cents to 30 cents a share,…

Sep 24, 2008 4:32 PM CDT

Contract Lawyers, Search Terms Blamed for Late-Disclosed McAfee E-Mails

A Howrey lawyer who headed an internal investigation of backdating at McAfee partly pinned the blame on contract lawyers when he told a judge yesterday why five corporate e-mails weren’t disclosed sooner. The e-mail had been turned over on the eve of trial for the company’s former general counsel, Kent…

Sep 19, 2008 11:08 AM CDT

Judge Says ‘Heads Have to Roll’ Over Late-Disclosed McAfee E-Mails

A San Francisco federal judge is demanding that lawyers for McAfee Inc. appear at a hearing today to explain why 18 pages of corporate e-mails weren’t disclosed until the eve of the backdating trial of the company’s former general counsel. The e-mails were turned over at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday after…

Sep 18, 2008 11:44 AM CDT

How LA Lawyer Dropped 90 Pounds, Became Iron Man

His demanding job as an in-house general counsel, difficulties with his marriage and adjusting to being a father made it easy for Steven Spitz to pack on the pounds. Luckily, his job is at a nutrition-oriented company. With the help of a dietitian at Los Angeles-based Natrol, which manufactures and…

Sep 15, 2008 8:43 PM CDT

Ecuador Indicts Two Chevron Lawyers Over Environmental Certification

Ecuador has charged two lawyers for Chevron with a conspiracy to fraudulently certify an environmental cleanup of mines by its predecessor Texaco. The accused lawyers are in-house lawyer Ricardo Reis Veiga and outside counsel Rodrigo Perez Pallares, the American Lawyer reports. Chevron issued a statement saying the indictments are related…

Sep 15, 2008 2:21 PM CDT

Meet Fannie Mae GC Beth Ann Wilkinson

A former colleague says the general counsel of Fannie Mae is well-suited to help restore confidence at the mortgage giant taken over by the federal government last weekend, if she remains in the job. Beth Ann Wilkinson, who was a partner at Latham & Watkins when she left to join…

Sep 9, 2008 5:37 PM CDT

The Insider

The economic news is doom and gloom—how is it affecting your business?

Sep 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Former Conn. Ethics Counsel Faces Ethics Complaint Over Fake Letter

A Connecticut lawyer who posed as a parking lot attendant when she wrote an anonymous letter complaining about her boss at a state agency is now facing a disciplinary complaint. Maureen Duggan faces a hearing in November or December, after a judicial branch disciplinary panel on Aug. 19 determined that…

Aug 29, 2008 3:54 PM CDT

Chrysler’s GC Retires; Replacement is Assistant GC

Chrysler’s longtime general counsel Kenneth Gluckman is retiring. He worked for the company for 30 years. His replacement is Louann Van Der Wiele, the National Law Journal reports. Most recently she served as assistant general counsel for product litigation and discovery, according to a press release. She joined Chrysler in…

Aug 29, 2008 2:48 PM CDT