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Four remarks about the legal function at Johnson & Johnson

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David Galbenski, Unbound: How Entrepreneurship is Dramatically Transforming Legal Services Today (2009) at 219-224, includes an interview with Phil Crowley, a senior lawyer in the Johnson & Johnson legal department. I picked out some tidbits.

History: Ken Perry founded the law department in 1934. Someday I would love to write a history of legal departments in the US.

Purpose of in-house lawyers: One of the General Counsel at the company “used to tell candidates during their interviews that at Johnson & Johnson we don’t hire lawyers to practice law; we hire lawyers to drive our business in a legal and ethical manner.” The distinction is crucial for client satisfaction.

Growth: The legal group has grown from 70 lawyers in 1996 to over 280 lawyers in 2008. in the 26 years since 1982, Johnson & Johnson increased its revenue from about 5 billion to over $60 billion and doubled its employees to 120,000. Five times as many lawyers in 14 years; twelve times the revenue in twice that time feels like a parallel growth rate.

Dispersion The law department went from 40 lawyers in one office location in 1982 to over 280 lawyers now in 41 offices around the world.

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One response to “Four remarks about the legal function at Johnson & Johnson”

  1. Michael Murphy says:
    February 17, 2011 at 10:55 pm

    While job-searching for Patent Paralegal positions, I saw a listing for First To File, Inc. on the Idaho State Bar website. First To File’s website (http://www.firsttofile.com/?page_id=38) lists Johnson & Johnson as a customer. Is Johnson & Johnson indeed a customer happy with First’s services? I’m leery of work-at-home ‘opportunities.’ Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.