An interview of Jerry Okarma, General Counsel of Johnson Controls, quotes him on recent efforts to reduce costs “including making absolutely sure that the investment in legal support needs to be made, and made now. Costs and expenses that can be delayed or deferred have been, and we’re much more…
Vendors produce sparkling accounts of how their software or service reaps huge benefits, quickly. They have wonderful ROI calculations, in other words, not to mention persuasive charts and figures. But, take it all with a shaker of salt. Even so, it is smart to work jointly with a vendor to…
In the latest issue of Met. Corp. Counsel, April 2010 at 21, two authors from a software vendor make three suggestions for law departments to consider when they check vendor references. The first two apply equally to references from law firms. “[C]reate a list of questions to ask references, because…
The legal team at Barclays has swollen to 800 lawyers, according to Corp. Counsel, April 2010 at 20, but even as grand as that it feels pinched for resources. When I read that, I rummaged for earlier posts about the huge bank, and found plenty (See my post of April…
Tucked into a list of 70 points on a checklist for outside counsel guidelines, published by the ACC Docket, March 2010 at 48-49, is the cautiously worded number 67: “Consider prohibiting your legal department’s responsibility for third-party invoices.” The author presumably would not have even mentioned the problem unless he…
Asked about Procurement’s involvement with his legal department, a speaker at an Ark Conference last week recalled very little interaction or pressure for Procurement to step in. “They think we have a good handle on legal spend so they leave us alone.” If your legal team can explain its spend…
It seems plausible to me that when an inside lawyer has to orchestrate several firms and vendors on a project – create a virtual team – that lawyer would have bandwidth to manage fewer cases than a counterpart who hires a firm to do it all (See my post of…
An email from UnitedLex (Kristie Kushner) brought to my attention a recent development that involves both a major legal department and a major LPO provider. I normally find little value in press releases but this one seems of the magnitude to deserve mention. I shortened the email but preserved portions…
Data in a paper by Prof. Michele Beardslee, presented at the Georgetown Conference on the Future of Law Firms at 19, reports on the salaries of 46 general counsel and the total compensation of 39 general counsel. The paper cites Execucomp as the source of its data. In 2006, the…
When you buy bonds of a company, you can buy a swap from an investor who agrees to pay you a certain amount if the bond issuer defaults. Why not, then, buy a swap from an investor who agrees to pay you a certain amount if the damages awarded against…