Goodness, gracious, this is a remarkable discussion about the future of big law firms! Thanks to lawyer, author, & blogger Robert J. Ambrogi for highlighting it in Legal Blog Watch:"When the general counsel of a major corporation says that the current model of the large law firm is heading towards extinction, ears perk up throughout the legal industry. That is precisely what happened...
Found this interesting post at the morepartnerincome blog which is sponsored by Juris,Inc.:"Hildebrandt’s Rees Morrison passes along a simple but clever technique for encouraging attorneys to improve efficiency by finding delegable tasks for non-lawyer members of the team. The idea comes from the corporate world but should work to everyone’s benefit in a law firm as well. The law...
Don't you just love it when someone puts her money where it counts? This Houston Chronicle story tells about that & more:"Cathy Lamboley's epiphany changed both her wardrobe and the way some Houston law firms do business. "Lamboley, who last week announced her upcoming retirement as general counsel of Shell Oil Co., used to wear corporate-issue business suits with those ubiquitous...
Hmm, sounds like it might be a good time for women to explore new careers beyond legal in the corporate world. See this Small Business Times article:"In recent years, many women have successfully climbed corporate ladders to become chief financial officers, commercial lenders, accountants and senior managers of financial companies. "For the most part, however, the world of investment...
Interesting profile of Mark Chandler, senior VP, general counsel, & secretary for Cisco Systems Inc. This technology company (based in San Jose, CA), produces Internet protocol-based networking services:"Chandler is keenly focused on applying technology, some developed by Cisco and some that it has purchased, to lower in-house legal costs on repetitive but crucial work. 'If you are...
This "New at the Top" profile of attorney Arleigh V. Closser will inspire those paralegals thinking about law school:"Position: Vice president, general counsel and secretary, Multimax, a Herndon company that provides enterprise information technology, communications services and solutions to support federal military and civilian agencies and state and local government. "How...
Well, this is good news for legal organizations & tech-oriented paralegals! "Gone are the days of pleading with law firm partners and in-house counsel about the efficiency and ease that computers bring to a legal practice. The 2007 Survey on Technology Budgeting and Spending , conducted at LegalTech New York, shows strong sustained support for technology in law firm and legal department...
Well, that sure sounds like a smart slap at not-so-tech-savvy firms, huh? "When Aon Corp. slashed its outside counsel roster from about 400 to 23 law firms in 2005, it quizzed the firms about their tech offerings. 'We asked them about extranets, e-billing and litigation management,' says David Cambria, director of legal operations at the Chicago-based insurance giant. "But Cambria says...
Make sure you can do your part to help prevent "death by e-discovery." Here's the complete article by lawyers Jeanine Bermel & Art Smith: "While no one course of action is appropriate for all corporations, there are some basic steps to prepare for that first e-discovery challenge, none of which guarantee success. On the other hand, failure to recognize the challenges of...
So, is this a welcome statement from Altman Weil & the Law Department Management blog? I think so! "Classify paralegals as professionals, not administrative staff, so you can pay for appropriate quality "A good point made by a consultant, James Wilber of Altman Weil, appears in InsideCounsel, Feb. 2007 at 54. Wilber has observed that 'often corporations classify paralegals as...