An odd ad by a North American legal group on the promotion of their former head to worldwide Chief Legal Officer

What do you make of this?

A half-page ad in Corp. Counsel, Feb. 2010 at 14, of hands clapping caught my eye. Under a quote about success being a journey, not a destination, it says, “Wishing our friend and colleague, Richard Egosi, Chief Legal Officer, the best of luck on the next part of the journey at Teva Pharmaceuticals.” Signed by “Your friends from Teva North America.” The website of Teva explains that Egosi became Corporate Vice President and Chief Legal Officer in January, 2010. He has been with Teva since 1995, most recently as Teva’s Deputy Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Teva North America.

The ad set me wondering. Applauding the sentiment of congratulation and pride, I wonder about the use of the legal department’s budget (I assume the members of the department did not pitch in to pay the $3,000 cost.). Makes me feel scrooge-like, but in a cost-conscious economy with tight budgets for legal teams ….