General counsel need to become accustomed to repeating key messages when they speak with members of their department. The repetition of fundamental points, such as the value of teamwork, partnership with internal clients, respect for each other, and communication – may sometimes grow wearying. They may assume there’s nothing more…
Two ideas I had not heard of comes from an article in the NYSBA J., Oct. 2010 at 36, which primarily discusses improvements to law schools. Among the opportunities for in-house counsel to pitch in it mentions to “collaborate with a local law school for an externship or guest lecture…
Two points struck me from data in the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s (AIPLA) Rep. of the Ec. Survey 2005 at I-73. The page shows data for 140 chief IP lawyers in corporations. One chart shows the percentage of time they devoted to nine types of work, the other chart…
The imminent departure, by retirement or illness, of a seasoned lawyer worries many general counsel. If they leave, so does their knowledge of the law, the realpolitik of practice, and the company. One way to lessen the loss might be to capture situation-specific advice on complex decision-making tasks. An ad…
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Docket, July/Aug. 2010, at 32, recommends an action general counsel should take to elevate the importance of diverse attorneys representing the company. “They should consider establishing a position of chief legal diversity officer or minority counsel liaison, which would send a clear message to…
The new top gun at Lockheed Martin’s legal department, Maryanne Lavan, put her sights on the general counsel position with a two-decade career that included significant stints outside the legal department. Among her posts she served as vice president of ethics and business conduct and – since 2007 – as…
Well, in the interests of full disclosure, these ideas in the Economist, Sept. 11, 2010 at 80 for gaining power were not quite that specific. To amass power, it is not enough to be good at your job. “The relationship between rewards and competence is loose at best.” For power…
Four performance myths get set straight in an article in talent mgt., Sept. 2010 at 12. The author states one as “When employees select their own work goals, their motivation to achieve them is greater.” Not necessarily. Research has shown that “employees willingly buy into assigned work goals if they…
A person can think well without being able to write well, but no one writes well without thinking well. From that profound claim, let’s move to the practical. Writing proficiency may in fact distinguish in-house counsel more than external counsel because busy executives have no patience for circumlocution, caveats, clumsiness…
Three observations about people management surfaced from a recent discussion. One was that the merry-go-round of lawyer recruitment, departure, and new recruitment in China and Brussels causes consternation. Job hoppers command 20 percent increases and get cars or other perquisites. Too many multinationals are chasing too few qualified candidates. Golden…