What are the turnover rates in law departments when the new general counsel is promoted from within as compared to arrives from without? I have not seen data on departures of direct reports within the first year or 18 months of the new general counsel, but my hypothesis is that…
Various corporate upheavals, when they reach the headlines, may draw headhunters who try to lure away the law department’s best lawyers. Even general counsel who have tried hard to retain their talent can find themselves overtaken by these corporate events. Layoffs and downsizings (See my posts of May 5, 2008:…
Edward Russell-Walling, 50 Management ideas you really need to know (Quercus 2007) at 73, pushes alliteration a long way as he cites research that suggests 10 ways to help employees feel more engaged. 1. Connect – “leaders must actively show that they value employees” (See my posts of Jan. 30,…
Those who manage people in law departments have to learn to recognize the differences between these interactions and deal with them appropriately. Competition between two or more lawyers can appear everywhere in a law department. How often the general counsel commends you in staff meetings, who gets chosen to speak…
I have quarried much from InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 61, which reports on a survey of in-house counsel on career satisfaction. In one part of the survey, respondents chose from a list of 11 MOST rewarding parts of working in-house and another list of 11 LEAST rewarding parts. “Exposure to…
In its recent survey of career satisfaction, InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 61, more than 1,200 in-house counsel responded. One question asked respondents to choose from a list of 11 the MOST rewarding parts of working in-house while a second question asked them to choose from another list of 11 the…
InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 61, surveyed its readers on career satisfaction. A previous post comments on the methodology of the survey and a second one on vacation hours (See my posts of May 11, 2008 [two].). In one part of the survey, respondents chose from a list of 11 MOST…
An earlier post mentions the risk to a general counsel that a specialist who supplements the department’s lawyers, in a practice support role such as knowledge manager, e-discovery supervisor, or database guru, may leave for a vendor or consultant (See my post of March 13, 2006: expert staff at risk…
An article in Talent Mgt., Jan. 2008 at 45, extols the importance of personality traits. “Research indicates between 20 percent and 25 percent of an individual employee’s effectiveness on the job is attributable to his or her personality.” That high degree of influence seems less likely for in-house lawyers, knowledge…
InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 61, reports that of the1200 in-house counsel who responded to its career satisfaction survey, nearly two-thirds of them (63.6%) get more than 15 vacation days annually. I assume that means the plurality gets four weeks per year. Since at some companies you have to work there…