A point-counterpoint in Lit. Mgt., Spring 2012 at 56, presents the case for and against staff counsel in insurance companies. Favoring staff counsel are “predictability of fees, decreased cycle time and increased trust between claims staff and attorneys handling their suits.” The proponent of staff counsel also argues for them…
In MIT Sloan Mgt. Rev., Spring 2012, at 19, as a co-author the Director of the USPTO states that “intellectual capital and intangible assets – including technology, brands and strategic competencies – comprise more than 50 percent of the business outputs in the U.S. economy.” If so, wouldn’t you expect…
The 2011 In-House Counsel Barometer, produced by the Canadian law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg In association with the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA), covers the responses of 864 in-house lawyers in Canada. The report states at 9 that “one-fifth (19%) of in-house counsel are sole practitioners in their…
“Path dependence” describes situations in a law department where “a decision made early on for one reason … influences behavior long after that reason is irrelevant.” Art Markman, Smart Thinking: three essential keys to solve problems, innovate and get things done (Perigree 2012) at 28-29, gives the example of the…
Last year’s ALM survey asked about 14 functional areas and whether the chief legal officer supervised it or some other executive did. Unsurprisingly, for more than two out of three respondents, the top lawyer was by a large margin responsible for Compliance, Corporate Secretary, Patents, and Trademarks. On the other…
The most recent report by Profit & Law, Helene Trink’s consultancy in France, covers 119 heads of legal (directeurs juridiques) in France. Approximately 60% of them are in charge of the corporate secretarial function (Secrétariat du Conseil) and a similar percentage lead compliance and ethics (Conformité/Ethique). The least common area…
The General Counsel of Allstate, Michele Coleman Mayes, gave an interview to Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Feb. 2012 at 1. Introducing herself, Mayes said “Our legal department is the fifth largest in the country, with approximately 500 lawyers representing our insureds and 130 attorneys dedicated to other matters.” She counts so-called…
An interview of Thomas Russo, general counsel of AIG since early 2010, appears in Corp. Counsel, Dec. 2011 at 18. It says that Russo has fifteen direct reports, which crowns him champion of that list in my book. That is a very large number of people to evaluate, respond to,…
An article in Compliance, Winter 2012 at 14, explains some of the amendments to the 2010 Organizational Guidelines by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. According to the authors, “compliance programs should include a reporting line between the corporate compliance officer and the board of directors or subcommittee, as well as reports…
Writing in the ACC Docket, Nov. 2011 at 72, an author stresses the conflicts of interest a general counsel might have to face as she balances attorney-client privilege (in her lawyer role) against disclosure and full cooperation with government authorities (in her compliance role). She also argues that lawyers intimidate…