SEC Probing Companies Victimized by Massive MOVEit Cyberattack Corporate Counsel

Table Of Content

• Columbia Law School's Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets
• Understanding (And Thriving In) The Role Of An In-House Lawyer
• The Evolving Role of In-House Counsel and When to Grow In-House Legal Teams
• Webinar: Benchmarking the Value of IP – How In-house and Outside Counsel Measure Efficacy and Impact
• In-House Counsel Jobs Aren’t All the Same
• Best Practices for Implementing In-House eDiscovery

At times you may hear, “but everyone else is doing it” (which often isn’t true) and your response will be, “but should we? ” For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, medical device companies had patents on how to design ventilators. The legal answer to whether they were required to permit the availability of such patented information to the broader public was, of course, no. However, with the help of wise legal counsel, some medical device companies nevertheless released those plans to aid in the public good. Always maintain your integrity and your ethical and moral compass.

Columbia Law School's Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets

In-house counsels typically operate within a corporate office setting, where the ambiance leans towards the professional yet strives for comfort to accommodate long hours of focused work. Their workspace is often equipped with the latest technology, including computers with specialized legal software, secure communication tools, and access to extensive legal databases, ensuring they have all necessary resources at their fingertips. Law firms will invest in rapid response IT teams to prioritize your needs, and there will likely be more administrative staff to help ensure you are working at the top of your license. And for internal resources, it is not uncommon for only the general counsel or a few deputies to have any administrative support at all. So, make sure you know how to set up a calendar invite, use the company intranet to try and troubleshoot an IT issue before you make a call, and get used to tracking your own Continuing Legal Education credits (CLEs).

Understanding (And Thriving In) The Role Of An In-House Lawyer

A 2022 survey of more than 300 in-house counsels found that nearly 80% of in-house attorneys are stressed out or burned out, and many are actively looking to work elsewhere. They chiefly cite increased workload and dissatisfaction, stemming from repetitive work and being siloed into a specific niche. Also, a 2021 Deloitte survey found that 69% of general counsels in the past year felt their attorneys were taking on too much administrative work. Similarly, companies expanding globally often benefit from advice by outside counsel with expertise in such international and cross-border areas such as intellectual property law, labor and employment law, privacy law and transactional law. Budget-wise, in-house counsel are a more predictable expense than outside counsel because they are salaried employees. In years where the company’s legal demands are high, a company will save money with a salaried individual handling those demands.

The Evolving Role of In-House Counsel and When to Grow In-House Legal Teams

Not surprisingly, many in-house teams are working to shift their relationship with outside counsel, turning OC into a partner that works hand in hand with them to meet business and legal goals. You are now part of a larger team, all working together to advance the business. Don’t wait to be told by your supervisor what to do, and don’t turn away matters that aren’t strictly legal.

Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance

Millennials like to work for organizations that are tech-savvy and tech-friendly—oftentimes being the key drivers of the digital themselves. Great tools are industry publications and listservs that can keep you on top of the latest industry news, including competitive intelligence. Sign up to receive your company’s news releases, and the information it posts on sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can do the same with key competitors or thought leaders relating to your area of practice (e.g., Environmental, Social, and Governance issues (ESG), if that is relevant to your practice). Your practice will look different than in private practice (think about “mile wide, inch deep” approach, compared to the “mile deep, inch wide”). This growth is driven by corporations’ increasing need to navigate complex legal landscapes, manage risk, and ensure compliance with evolving regulations globally.

Webinar: Benchmarking the Value of IP – How In-house and Outside Counsel Measure Efficacy and Impact

Companies in the finance, technology, entertainment, oil and commercial real estate industries often hire in-house counsel for this reason. In-house counsel, however, will seldom relieve the company of all other legal expenses. When legal issues escalate, in-house counsel might not have sufficient substantive expertise to eliminate the need for outside counsel. In addition, in-house counsel often discover hidden legal issues that require the support of outside counsel.

Working Ahead: AI, States Compound In-House Counsel Labor Headaches - Bloomberg Law

Working Ahead: AI, States Compound In-House Counsel Labor Headaches.

Posted: Thu, 25 Apr 2024 09:01:00 GMT [source]

Relationships are reciprocal - be a good friend and colleague to others. You need to figure out how members of the team relate to each other and the power “dynamics” of the different players. Often your supervisor or others can help you understand how various players fit in the organization and the power structure (formal and informal). Like any occupation, much of what will make you successful is who you know, and how you can build relationships with them that help you and the organization. With all your relationships, you want to be clear you are there to assist and support them and their success.

But when an in-house team is a well-ingrained machine that leverages available technology to be as efficient as possible, the question of whether to outsource key matters or not tends to become a no-brainer. Although expanding in-house teams is a desirable outcome as both the organization and its legal needs grow, there are usually many team operations and processes that can be improved without the need for new hires. The more powerful your in-house team gets through these kinds of initiatives, the more likely it is to get expanded, replacing roles and tasks traditionally performed by outside counsel. When there’s enough work volume to support a full headcount and your team is excelling on efficiency, it’ll be easy to show the potential savings of expanding the team vs. outsourcing more tasks. Annie Little, JD, ACC is an ICF-certified career coach and former lawyer.

So when an urgent legal issue arises, there usually isn’t a deep bench of lawyers to call upon. The agency has dispatched dozens of sweep letters to companies affected by the hack, which compromised the private information of 2,770 organizations and more than 94 million individuals. Chris AujardAfter becoming general counsel in 2013, he was tasked with winding down a mediation scheme set up for affected sub-postmasters and removing Second Sight from its role investigating the Post Office. Meeting minutes from 2014 showed he was present when executives discussed setting aside £1mn in “token payments” to mitigate any reputational damage.

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news. “It all keeps getting compounded,” one general counsel and chief human resources officer said. The employment of in house counsels is expected to grow at an average rate over the next decade. The latest on trends affecting the industry, as well as all the metrics and rankings to help you shortlist firms. For more information on pursuing an in-house role, check out the “Notes to My (Legal) Self” podcast episode with Kevin Keller. In this episode, Kevin discusses alternative in-house paths and shares his top tips for making this career transition.

If you are looking for a specific type of therapist, you can search for marriage or couples counseling in Los Angeles or find a child psychologist or family therapist in L.A. In addition, some therapists provide group therapy, which is typically a therapist-led session with multiple people. It’s normal to experience mental health issues and relationship problems. Therapy can teach you more about yourself and your mental health concerns in a healing way.

In recent years, companies have been increasingly hiring in-house legal counsel. Some legal recruiters have likened this to the “dot-com era” of the late 1990s and early 2000s, where massive internet growth prompted a corresponding increase in in-house hires. Based on interviews with junior lawyers and expert analysis from the Chambers team. However, teams are generally more reluctant to hire in-house staff than spending more on outside partners, and the budget to expand in-house legal services tends to be difficult to obtain. In a recent one-of-a-kind in-housing survey conducted by Logikcull, respondents rated “lack of bandwidth” as the #1 reason for bringing more work in-house.

In-house counsel need to deeply understand they are advisors to the business. Legal risk is just one of many important risks that companies face. Your role is to identify the various risks, and advise on them in ways that enable your business leaders to make sound, informed decisions. You will rarely be the ultimate decision-maker on any given issue.