A profile in Executive Legal Adviser, Nov./Dec. 2005 at 31, quotes Michael B. Clark, general counsel of Steves & Sons: “I think young associates are making way too much money for what they are competent to handle. This is one of the biggest complaints I hear form other in-house lawyers…
According to a pop quiz in Corp. Counsel, Vol 12, Feb. 2006 at 190, “an institution of higher learning is credited with (or should be blamed for) devising the billable hour system used by most law firms.” The culprit? Harvard University. I graduated Harvard College in 1974, and until now…
An earlier post today commented on the methodology of this survey. Here, I accept the data as given, and remark on part of the findings. The interviews asked the senior decision-makers to rank eight law-firm attributes for the degree to which companies were influenced by the attribute in selecting counsel.…
According to social scientists, mere possession of an item increases the value a person places on it. This they call the “endowment effect.” The effect shows up when someone has been the highest bidder for an item in an auction, or when they have touched the object for which they…
American Express’s law department dislikes automatic billing rate increases by its law firms. “No matter how aggressive we get, firms believe that each year they get to raise their rates.” (From a teleconference hosted by ACC’s Law Department Management, Litigation and Small Law Department committees, and comments by the Chief…
I previously considered most-favored nation (MFN) commitments by law firms, and found them wanting (See my posts of Oct. 30, 2005 and Nov. 21, 2005.). Even so, I would not accept the justification given by a law firm that refuses an MFN guarantee, rate discounts, or other alternative fee arrangements…
This is not phoolishness. American Express sets the fees it will pay litigation counsel for certain phases of predictable types of cases that should be resolved by a motion for summary judgment. According to a teleconference hosted by three ACC committees, where one of its litigators took part, if the…
Based on responses from 38 of the Fortune 250 general counsel, Corporate Counsel reports that 37 percent of them “did not fire a firm in 2005” (Corp. Counsel, Vol. 13, Jan. 2006 at 17). Companies in that elite bracket may have retained hundreds of firms during the year, so for…
A 1997 report by the California State Auditor of expert witnesses used by the California Department of Transportation’s Legal Division looked at expert witness fees. It found that payments made to one firm resulted in a ratio of billing rates to costs ranging from between 1.9 to 1 and 10…
“A legal consultant license is available to a lawyer admitted in a foreign country who has practiced law in the foreign country for three of the past five years, who possesses the necessary moral character and general fitness, who is over 26 years old, and who intends to practice and…