Three observations about the law department of Silver Lake Technology Management

From a profile of the General Counsel of Silver Lake Technology Management LLC, a private investment firm, I note these points. The Nat’l LJ, Jan. 31, 2011 at 8, mentions that Silver Lake has more than $14 billion under management. For companies that invest in and finance businesses, lawyers per billion dollars of invested assets would be a highly relevant benchmark.

It also notes that Silver Lake employs about 165 people. Its law department of four lawyers and one contract attorney therefore accounts for one lawyer for approximately every 34 employees, which as a benchmark ratio is off the charts. The point is that financing companies are legally intensive.

The third point notes that the General Counsel of Silver Lake, Karen King, is married to the senior director of corporate legal services at Symantec. Now, that’s a family committed to legal department operations!