In-house Counsel

Pfizer Global Patent Director Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

The global patent director of Pfizer Inc., Alan Hesketh, has been arrested and charged with child pornography, the Associated Press reports. Hesketh is a British citizen who is a permanent U.S. resident working in Pfizer’s legal division in Connecticut. He is on a leave of absence, a Pzifer spokeswoman says.…

Mar 28, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

In-House Jobs Not So Cushy or Exciting, Says Veteran Lawyer

If you think a jump from a law firm to an in-house position is the ticket to a cushy, stress-free job, think again. The life of an in-house lawyer is not exactly a bed of roses. That’s the assessment of Gloria Noh Cannon, a former in-house lawyer who is now…

Mar 27, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

Bear Stearns GC Sold Stock Options Before They Plummeted in Value

Bear Stearns general counsel Michael Solender was one of six corporate insiders who sold stock options before they dropped below $3 a share, according to a published report. Solender sold stock options for $89 a share, earning $186,000, three months before the big drop in share price, the American Lawyer…

Mar 26, 2008 11:33 AM CDT

Top Lawyers to Consider Diversity Initiatives at Upcoming Summit

More than 100 general counsel and law firm managing partners plan to focus on specifics when they meet next month in Arizona on improving diversity in the profession. The conference, the Call to Action Summit, will be the second major national meeting designed to prod the profession to increase hiring…

Mar 21, 2008 5:12 PM CDT

‘Feeding Frenzy’ Over Expected Lawyer Layoffs at Bear Stearns

Updated: Although it’s not yet confirmed, observers expect that a significant number of the 100 or so lawyers in the compliance department of Bear Stearns Cos. will be laid off once the investment bank’s buyout at a fire-sale price by JPMorgan Chase is completed. So legal recruiters are hovering, hoping…

Mar 20, 2008 3:30 PM CDT

More FTC Officials Jump to New Jobs

Two more staffers at the Federal Trade Commission are planning to leap to new jobs, according to The Deal. Deputy general counsel John Graubert has confirmed that he will become a partner at Covington & Burling, according to the publication. He will join the firm’s antitrust and consumer law practice…

Mar 4, 2008 3:15 PM CST

The Wall Street Journal’s General Counsel Is Fired

The Wall Street Journal has axed Stuart Karle, the paper’s longtime general counsel who achieved some important First Amendment victories. Karle did not disclose why he was fired in a conversation with Legal Times, but he did say he “had a spectacularly good time” helping the newspaper defend its stories.…

Mar 3, 2008 2:32 PM CST

Attorney at Loan

Secondment grows in U.S. to link firms, clients

Mar 1, 2008 7:49 PM CST

How Big Law Firms Can Retain the ‘Lost Generation’ of Unhappy Associates

Associates at large law firms are a “lost generation” who are given mostly drudge work, face unceasing pressure to produce, and are kept in the dark about firm finances and the broader strategies behind the matters they handle. No wonder some firms are losing as many as half their associates,…

Feb 29, 2008 12:36 PM CST

Ex-GC Turned Winery Owner Wins Derivative Suit

The former general counsel of Covad Communications says he feels partly vindicated by a $5 million settlement of his derivative suit against the telecommunications company, even though he won’t receive an individual payout. But as one of the largest individual stockholders, Dhruv Khanna, one of the company’s founders, receives an…

Feb 29, 2008 11:55 AM CST

FTC Chair to Jump to Procter & Gamble

Antritrust sources are telling The Deal that Deborah Platt Majoras, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, will join the legal department of Procter & Gamble. Majoras is expected to become deputy general counsel and will be on “an inside track” to become the company’s chief legal officer in a couple…

Feb 28, 2008 12:09 PM CST

Pentagon GC Resigns, Faced Controversy Over Detainee Policies

Defense Department general counsel William Haynes III is resigning to take a job in the private sector. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) describes Haynes as a principal architect of the policies governing Guantanamo detainees. He helped formulate the administration’s legal response to the Sept. 11 attacks, which included new…

Feb 26, 2008 7:17 PM CST

Troll Tracker Outs Himself, $15K Reward Remains Unclaimed

The anonymous author of the Patent Troll Tracker blog has revealed that he is Richard Frenkel, an intellectual property lawyer who is a director in Cisco Systems’ IP group. Frenkel said he decided to out himself after he received an e-mail threat from someone who threatened to go public with…

Feb 26, 2008 12:23 PM CST

Top In-House Lawyers Make $645K, Survey Says

Chief legal officers and general counsel in legal departments of more than 25 lawyers made a median of $645,000 in total cash compensation in 2007, according to a survey by Altman Weil. Median cash compensation ranged from $285,000 for companies with $300 million or less in gross annual revenue to…

Feb 26, 2008 11:54 AM CST

Countrywide Plaintiffs Include Borrowers, Investors, Shareholders

Countrywide Financial Corp. general counsel Sandor Samuels has his work cut out for him. Samuels also serves as Countrywide’s litigation chief and “he’s facing huge lawsuits on all fronts” arising from its subprime problems, Corporate Counsel reports. In the third quarter of 2007 alone, expenses for legal, accounting and consulting…

Feb 22, 2008 12:21 PM CST