For its biennial survey of career satisfaction, covered by InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 61, InsideCounsel obtained responses from 1,200 in-house counsel. One question asked them to choose from a list of 11 the MOST rewarding part of working in-house. A second question asked them to choose from another list of…
In the business press you often read that a good executive will bring value to whatever industry that executive joins. General managerial ability rises above knowledge of a particular industry. If so, then to the same degree a general counsel in one industry might be equally effective in the same…
At Microsoft, including apparently in the law department, “after every departmental meeting our employees use an online tool to react to what they heard and tell their departments’ leaders how we’re doing.” This communication-enhancer is described by the general counsel of Microsoft, Brad Smith, in InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 8.…
Much can be said about lawyers in companies who concentrate on an area of law. Legal specialists are the lawyer’s lawyer for the commercial lawyers who spot legal issues and handle a wide array of needs for a business unit (See my post of Nov. 13, 2006: what business generalists…
An item in the Harv. Bus. Rev., Vol. 86, May 2008 at 30, summarizes research on the consequences to retention rates of layoffs. Not surprisingly, layoffs often prompt demoralized survivors to leave. Even worse, I suspect, the better employees who survi andve the cuts are the ones most likely and…
If you read his column in InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 8, you learn that the very busy general counsel of Microsoft, Brad Smith, has “breakfast once a month with a dozen people from across our department.” It sounds like he breaks his fast with a sample of employees and uses…
It amuses me to read the hyperbolic standards set out in position descriptions. “Excellent communication skills,” “mastery of PowerPoint and spreadsheets,” “deep experience in taxation,” and other superhuman achievements are routine to post. Thus, I smiled when I read an advertisement by MSC Industrial Supply Co., in the NY Times,…
The lawyers of Microsoft have the opportunity each year to respond to a survey of all the company’s employees. According to Microsoft’s general counsel, Brad Smith, writing in InsideCounsel, May 2008 at 8, “more than 80 percent of the legal department participates.” That level of participation is commendable (See my…
I just heard of a law department with less than a dozen lawyers that has three Deputy General Counsel. Talk about title inflation! The Deputy General Counsel title should be used sparingly (See my post of Nov. 20, 2007: typical roles of Deputy GCs and five in-house lawyers who hold…
The lid is off this Pandora’s Box (See my post of March 13, 2008: use of Esq. by lawyer not in the law department.). The mailbag of the columnist who tackled this knotty issue bulged with advice. “Many readers wrote that they have been taught and still believe that it…