A previous hyperpost brought together 10 metaposts on benchmarks (See my post of July 19, 2009: ten metaposts on benchmarks.). Since then, another 13 have accumulated. Some of these newer ones quite likely repurpose earlier posts that have already been included, many of the posts are recent. Some metaposts concern…
As I noticed the drumbeat of downloads of my recent article on the value delivered by in-house counsel, I wondered why that theme grabbed so many readers. The straightforward answer would be that many managers of law departments want to understand better how to describe the value their team brings,…
You can’t declare “mission accomplished” when your law firms agree to freeze their billing rates. The reason you can’t is that firms may end up with more senior lawyer time on similar matters than before the rates froze. In fact, that shift upward may be likely since for the same…
A panelist from Baxter Laboratories recently shared with the audience that the law department requests an early case assessment at the 180-day mark. Baxter’s period between receipt of the complaint and receipt of the law firm’s assessment – six months – is longer than the more usual 30- or 45-day…
Representatives from Mosaic Consulting attended Mitratech’s Interact 2011 Conference. Some of their material referred to the category of “Business Intelligence” software. I asked about it and the Mosaic folks, Chris Wilson in particular, told me that he believes Business Objects has the most presence. He pointed out that both TeamConnect…
Some data from Booz & Company, in strat.+bus, Summer 2011 at 43, gives more insight into the frequency of the tumultuous period for a general counsel when the boss changes. A column graph shows that in 2010 CEO turnover in the U.S. and Canada hit about 12 percent. Of that…
The global e-discovery counsel of Google, Theresa Beaumont, shared recently her nine “key components of a successful, defensible e-discovery process.” As reproduced in InsideCounsel, May 2011 at 61, the second component raised my eyebrows. “Accomplish what you must with the most elegant solutions and processes you can.” One eyebrow jumped…
Marc Firestone, the General Counsel of Kraft Foods, said a few words at the InsideCounsel SuperConference about the pressures of being alone at the top. “It is important,” Firestone said, “for the General Counsel to have a mentor outside the company whom they trust – a wise head.” He has…
Speaking at the InsideCounsel SuperConference, a lawyer from Aerojet described his “Buyer’s Handbook.” It weighs in at 150 pages. The left-hand page shows a particular clause in Aerojet’s procurement contracts and the right-hand page provides both commentary on that clause and alternative language that its buyers might resort to. For…
For years I have urged law departments that negotiate fixed fees with a firm to insist on monthly bills nevertheless. The law department wants to be able to review staffing, the order of tasks undertaken, levels and composition of lawyers assigned, and other intelligence from invoices. Furthermore, when it comes…