Part IV. Follow along in this four-part blog series featuring a timely and provocative look inside Hewlett-Packard Company’s innovative new legal talent development program. This blog takes a look at the training program from the perspective of a participant, HP new hire, Gail Su. Gail is a graduate of Harvard Law School and is currently… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: In-House Counsel
Four Trends in the Digital Media Era Illuminate Best Practices for Professional Advisors
Posted in In-House PracticeJay R. Grant is Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for Univision Communications Inc., a Spanish language media company. Grant also serves as the legal department representative to the Office of the Chief Executive Officer in New York. TREND 1: Platforms that best track and monetize content engagement and target users with advertising,… Continue Reading
Square One 2.0
Posted in LeadershipFollow along as our new ACC President and CEO, Veta T. Richardson, chronicles her first year at ACC, with this monthly blog series. The voice, views and stories expressed in this series are of the author and are not ACC’s. "Week 1: Like trying to sip water from a fire hose." As I was preparing… Continue Reading
In-house Practice Rules: States Must Remove the Restrictions on Pro Bono Efforts
Posted in Pro BonoBy Corporate Pro Bono ACC has long championed the fight against onerous in-house counsel registration requirements. As a result, many jurisdictions now permit non-locally barred in-house attorneys to practice law for their employer-client as long as they are in good standing in another state. Unfortunately, this exception does not always extend to providing pro bono… Continue Reading
Uncovered: HP’s In-house Counsel Training Program Part 2
Posted in ACC Value ChallengePart II. Follow along in this four-part blog series featuring a timely and provocative look inside Hewlett-Packard Company’s innovative new legal talent development program. This blog takes a look at the training program from the perspective of an HP staff member, Susan Goodhue. Susan is Vice President and Associate General Counsel, IP Transactions in HP’s… Continue Reading
Canadian Law Firms Still Not Getting the Message about True Nature of Client Needs
Posted in ACC Value Challengeby Martine Turcotte, CLO of BCE, and Zygmunt Jablonski, CLO of Domtar Click here to download the French Translation (pdf) of this post. As general counsel for two different kinds of clients, there are many things that distinguish our respective roles. One of us has a large department, one has a smaller department. One… Continue Reading
Emotional Intelligence and the In-House Lawyer
Posted in In-House PracticeI recently attended a workshop at my son’s preschool where we learned some of the principles of Conscious Discipline®. This multifaceted approach to managing conflicts is followed in numerous schools and by many parents, and I won’t attempt to do it justice by summarizing it here. But there were three key takeaways I gleaned from… Continue Reading
From San Antonio, ACC’s 2010 Annual Meeting Helps In-House Counsel Be the Solution
Posted in Annual Meeting 2010, LeadershipWelcome to ACC’s 2010 Annual Meeting in beautiful San Antonio. Our theme this year is Be the Solution. Our meeting will continue to provide practical sessions and realistic solutions that help you navigate the challenges and opportunities faced by corporate legal departments around the world. ACC Committees drive our meeting content. Your peers tell us… Continue Reading
A Value-based Client-firm Relationship: Part XII
Posted in ACC Value Challenge, Client-Firm ValueProcess Mapping Primer Week 12. Each week via the In-House ACCess blog, follow the promise and pitfalls of forming a new value-based client-firm relationship. ACC Value Challenge steering committee member Ken Grady, General Counsel and Secretary of Wolverine World Wide, offered to profile his selection and start-up process of launching a trademark portfolio management engagement… Continue Reading
What a Home Grown Girl Can Say about Global Legal Issues
Posted in ACC Docket(ACC Docket — June) I admit it: my global travel experience is limited. I have only traveled out of the United States to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. You guessed it: two out of the three trips were for vacation. I am not the candidate of choice for anything international. And, to top it off, I… Continue Reading
What does Law Day mean to you?
Posted in In-House PracticeMay 1 offers lawyers an opportunity to reflect on what the law “means” to each of us, those we serve, and the larger interests of society. Law Day in the US often includes ceremonial celebrations, recommitment to the highest values of our profession and public service (and yes, even bar association missives on the… Continue Reading
Grounded in London
Posted in Leadership, On the RoadThe recent volcano that brought air travel to a standstill erupted just as I was finishing a European General Counsel Roundtable in London that focused on “Managing the Global Legal Function in the Midst of Change.” If you are on Twitter, you can see some of my insights here. From the Roundtable, it became very clear… Continue Reading
Finding Effective Business Solutions to Complex Legal Challenges
Posted in In-House PracticeLast week, I moderated a General Counsel Roundtable at Georgetown University’s Corporate Counsel Institute, an annual gathering attended by both in-house counsel and outside counsel from around the country. During our panel, top General Counsel from different industries addressed both the challenges they face and elaborated on some of their success stories. The underlying theme… Continue Reading
Law Firm Access to ACC Value Index
Posted in ACC Value ChallengeThe ACC Value Index (AVI) is a tool meant to inform in-house counsel decisions as part of a larger process of selecting and retaining a law firm. The AVI is a searchable database for in-house counsel to share subjective evaluations of the firms they engage. It is key to note that this is a process… Continue Reading
Privilege Is Under Attack–Perhaps Not–You Are Under Attack And Only You Can Stop It.
Posted in In-House PracticeIn Susan Hackett’s blog on the Textron case she states that the privilege is under attack. Let me suggest, at the risk of inspiring disagreement from Steve Bokat, that what is really under attack is the notion that in-house counsel is really practicing law. Susan says as much: Can anyone out there honestly believe that… Continue Reading
Will Your Work Product Become Your Adversary’s Exhibit A?
Posted in In-House PracticeACC filed an amicus with the US Supreme Court on January 27, 2010 in the Textron case. This is the third brief we’ve filed in this matter as it’s cut a tortuous path through the appeals and circuit courts; the press release we issued recounts it all for those inclined to read it. The case… Continue Reading
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP: I’LL KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT
Posted in Annual Meeting 2009, In-House Practice, LeadershipLeadership, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Sure there are plenty of definitions and many a book has been written and speech given on the subject, but when you ask people, what leadership means to them, you’ll get an assortment of responses. A recent quick poll of lawyers and others in the… Continue Reading
ACC President Shares Some Thoughts on the ACC Value Index
Posted in ACC Value Challenge, In the House, In-House PracticeThe recent launch of the ACC Value Index at ACC’s 2009 Annual Meeting generated significant interest and commentary, including both praise and criticism. We welcome these comments because they not only further the attention and discussion about value in the delivery of legal services (a primary goal of the ACC Value Challenge), but they will also help… Continue Reading
Random Observations & Indelible Memories
Posted in Leadership, On the RoadEach year, as ACC’s Annual Meeting concludes, I’m always struck by the interesting and substantive new information I discover. Inevitably, people say things – or I observe or participate in events – that leave me with much to think about. This was my 18th annual meeting and it was no different. Throughout our time in Boston,… Continue Reading
ACC’s 2009 Annual Meeting Exhibit Hall – Tchotchkes Overshadowed by Interest in Value & Efficiency
Posted in ACC Value Challenge, On the RoadThe second day of a two and a half day conference can sometimes wane in attendance and engagement, but Day 2 at ACC’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Boston didn’t show any sign of diminishing interest. Attendees dispersed throughout the exhibit hall for their morning coffee and croissants, while chatting with the 100+ exhibitors and sponsors on… Continue Reading
Positive Vibe Permeates throughout ACC’s 2009 Annual Meeting
Posted in Leadership, On the RoadACC’s Annual Meeting in Boston might have kicked off on Sunday night, but things really got underway on Monday as thousands of in-house counsel arrived at the Hynes Convention Center to register and begin their immersion into what brought them together: learning, engaging and sharing. Having been involved with past meetings, I was struck today… Continue Reading
ACC’S 2009 Annual Meeting Kicks Off in Boston
Posted in On the RoadIn-house counsel and legal industry professional from around the world came together at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center as ACC kicked off its Annual Meeting with a Welcome Reception and networking event in the Exhibit Hall on Sunday evening. Over 100 event sponsors and exhibitors were on hand from international law firms, top litigation support providers and… Continue Reading
Working Together to Make the ACC Value Challenge Work
Posted in ACC Value Challenge“Automating broken processes won’t make us smarter; it can make us stupider faster.” ~ Steven Levy Participating in a panel discussion at the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) conference last month was yet another opportunity for me to engage in a discussion about the ACC Value Challenge. But, instead of speaking to in-house counsel and… Continue Reading
The ACC Value Challenge —Technologists, Yes, this Means You, Too
Posted in ACC Value Challenge“Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach.” ~ Earl Nightingale Accountability, efficiency and value — three words that are reverberating throughout the legal services industry these days. In-house counsel are being held accountable by their companies to contain costs and predict… Continue Reading