A viewpoint that leaves me doubtful about its validity came from a panelist at the SuperConference. He said the just know and describing your data about spending “shows your client your value.” I suppose that compared to a black box legal department that simply says, “We spend $5.2 million last…
Far from the truth is it that in-house lawyers can just relax and let the work flow in. When you are in-house and only have one customer (business unit Widget or function HR) who can freeze you out or not come to you or turn to outside counsel, “marketing” means…
An article in Compliance Week (July 7, 2010) by José Tabuena, SVP of governance and compliance with PhyServe Physician Services, mentions a function I have never seen. “One example of where legal and audit teams can cooperate is in financial statement disclosures. Does (or should) the company have a special…
This quote, from a recent article, baffles me. “Auditors should be familiar with control criteria involving the legal department under the COSO framework. For example, to test the implementation and effectiveness of the control environment, auditors can compile a list of significant instances of misconduct that occurred in recent years,…
A French consultant, Hélène Trink, teamed with the legal search firm Equiteam to survey French legal departments. They obtained responses from 81 general counsel (Directeurs juridiques) in the fall of 2009. Surprisingly, a bit more than half of the respondents said that their 2009 budget had increased. Asked to explain…
A French consultant, Hélène Trink, teamed with the legal search firm Equiteam to survey French legal departments. They obtained responses from 81 general counsel (Directeurs juridiques) in the fall of 2009. Surprisingly, a bit more than half of the respondents said that their 2009 budget had increased. Asked to explain…
David Bleich, the general counsel of Ford Motor, made many excellent points during a panel at the SuperConference. One of his statements was about how very important it is for a general counsel to be “an advocate for the role of the law department.” Build respect throughout the organization for…
Jeff Carr, the general counsel of FMC Technologies, held forth on a panel at the SuperConference yesterday. In the context of billing arrangements by law firms other than hourly billing (and discounted hourly rates), Carr speculated out loud. He wondered whether a general counsel who has not actively explored and…
Baidu, the Internet colossus of China, boasts a team of 16 corporate lawyers, including two in Japan, who counsel the $625 million revenue company. An article in Corp. Counsel, May 2010 at 68, includes these facts in its profile of Victor Liang, the company’s general counsel. What struck me, however,…
For all but a tiny handful of enormous legal departments, a newsletter leaves a musty, old-fashioned impression. The same material put on an intranet may be somewhat more acceptable, but even then whatever effort the publishing requires may be wasted. But, stop the presses! The ACC Docket, March 2010 at…