One of the breakthrough ideas for 2006, as selected and described in the Harvard Bus. Rev., Vol. 84, Feb. 2006 at 56, could penetrate law departments. Devised and tested by the US Army, the idea encourages peers to share their experiences as leaders. Large law departments could look into this…
An interesting article, Corp. Counsel, Vol. 12, Feb. 2006 at 24, explores the mini-controversy at BASF’s New Jersey law department following its general counsel’s requested that in-house lawyers sign non-compete agreements. Not so fast, some of them demurred, because a professional practice rule in New Jersey prohibits “an employment agreement…
The average profit per equity partner of AMLAW 200 firms in 2004 was approximately $830,000. Let’s take that figure as roughly compensation per partner. Executive Legal Adviser, Nov./Dec. 2005 at 6 lists the compensation of 38 general counsel of publicly-traded Texas-based companies. Adding in the value of the stock options…
Heinrich von Pierer joined the German industrial giant Siemens in 1969 as a lawyer. Promoted to chief executive in 1992, he retired 13 years later from the helm of the €75 billion (about $82 billion) conglomerate (Fin. Times, Nov. 18, 2005 at Spec. Rep. 4). Charles O. Prince, III, formerly…
An article, Fin. Times, Nov. 2, 2005 at 8, describes how you can have a recording done of yourself speaking two minutes on four topics, and then a psychologist who specializes in linguistics uses software to compare your voice against an “ideal” voice. That comparison looks at pitch, articulation and…
I think that it is best for law departments to use the evaluation form that prevails throughout their company. Yes, it does not apply in many respects to evaluations of professionals, but it is better to stay in sync. Consistency allows HR to evaluate the pay and grades of the…
In-house lawyers at any grade/title may well be the counselor to clients who have higher grades/titles. Rank disparity makes no difference to most clients but a few may exclude their “lower ranking” lawyer, especially if they invite only a certain level of employees to limited-attendance meetings or communicate confidential information…
A study by John Villa, a partner at Williams & Connolly, finds that during the four years from 1998 to 2001 there were about 12 SEC actions against general counsel; during the next four years (through Sept. 2005), there were about 20. As to criminal prosecutions, the numbers for the…
The term “salary compression” refers to the common problem that arises when a law department hires a new lawyer from a law firm. Often, the department must pay that new lawyer at a rate that is relatively high compared to lawyers who have been in the law department for years.…
Shearman & Sterling studied the annual reports of the 100 largest US companies in 2004 for how those companies compensate and operate their Boards of Directors. Noting that being listed on the NYSE requires a company’s audit committee to oversee compliance and legal, the law firm reported that 60 of…