“One of the most surprising lessons I’ve learned in this job is that you need to be in shape physically to lead a global function. That is a part of the balance you can’t forgo. The travel and the hours will destroy your health if you’re not careful about food,…
Some law departments (or their companies) pay for graduate programs taken by their lawyers. For example, someone might enroll in an executive MBA program or earn a project management certificate. For international lawyers, a resource like this is the Center for American and International Law, which Inside Counsel, June 2009…
When a legal department has lawyers who are admitted in a foreign jurisdiction and have only practiced there, it is important to integrate them with the mainstream department. You might bring them to headquarters for a period of training and enculturation. Two examples of this method are in Inside Counsel,…
The downside of hiring specialists to supplant outside counsel are several. When you add a lawyer skilled in an area of law you risk (1) that the specialist work might dry up, (2) the compensation paid will upset internal equity, and (3) turnover when the economy strengthens. Law firms are…
According to Hewitt Associates, “under-recognition of high potentials is one of the single biggest issues companies face.” This claim, an overstatement by a firm that consults on talent management, nevertheless makes a good point. talent mgt., June 2009 at 17, adds that when executives treat specially their very best talent,…
I do not know if the problem I describe hereafter exists, but the risk of a perception of impropriety exists. A senior lawyer in a department directs substantial sums to a law firm in the year before the lawyer retires or leaves the department and joins that firm. That coincidence…
Think for a moment. If you were general counsel and you opened a budget account for each of your lawyers with $20,000 and you told them they could pay an administrative assistant $30 an hour. Assuming three lawyers for every admin, each fully-used admin would make $50-60,000. Or, if some…
As described on the website of Hogan Assessments, “The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) is a measure of normal personality and is used to predict job performance. The HPI was the first inventory of normal personality based on the Five-Factor Model and developed specifically for the business community. The HPI is…
One argument for having a demographically diverse slate of members on a team is that diversity produces innovation and creativity. A chapter in a recent book, however, by a strong proponent of diversity, not only doesn’t support the argument with research findings, but admits doubt. The following quote comes from…
Bob Unterberger sent me this item. As part of a discussion among members of Linkedin’s Legal Process Outsourcing Group, Pangea3 co-ceo Sanjay Kamlani observes: “Several years ago, Forrester Research had predicted about 35,000 lawyer jobs shifting offshore by 2010 and about 79,000 by 2015. I haven’t seen an updated forecast…