Law Roundtable

Upwards of 80 percent of all US law departments have fewer than 10 lawyers. Even at the top of the range, assuming at least four or five direct reports to the general counsel, none of the other lawyers manage more...

Recovery of legal fees for successful defense of the Crown’s criminal action. Law departments in the UK have the right to recover the legal fees they pay in defense of criminal charges, if acquitted. For example, the engineering firm Balfour...

Inside lawyers squawk about internal conferences at law firms and how timekeepers bill for them. Partners squawk back, because they understand that it is valuable to consult with peers, delegate work, and share knowledge, the purposes, that is, of internal...

One of the provisions in the Council on Litigation Management’s Litigation Guidelines (Para. XIV) establishes the right of a legal department to go back over bills even after the department has paid them. “These audits may be conducted at your...

The worth of academic psychology studies varies widely, but when I read that “people in a bad mood performed tasks better than those in a good mood” I hardly cheered up. My basic style is cheerful; life is full and...

Some proponents of a method to absorb information more effectively urge you to learn in chunks, review the chunks, and test yourself (See my post of Nov. 19, 2009: “spaced education’”). A related method emphasizes even more the benefits of...

Despite having addressed reporting from several perspectives, I have not pulled together my pieces on where the general counsel reports. So, I have filled that hole (See my post of Aug. 28, 2005: general counsel who seek to be the...

Several years ago I wrote that many more general counsel in the UK report below the CEO than do US general counsel (See my post of April 12, 2006: UK GCs report less often to CEOs than the 80%+ mark...

An interview of Stasia Kelly, the controversial general counsel of AIG who recently resigned, appears in Fortune, March 1, 2010 at 48-49. Kelly explains her relationship with Bob Willumstad, who took over as CEO and was her boss. One critical...

If you have wondered whether to complete the benchmarking survey of General Counsel Metrics, wonder no more. It is fast, easy and the participant group is already the largest ever! To find out some of the innovative techniques the report...