Biglaw attorneys look at in-house life as the promised land, but is it really? Mark Herrmann at AboveTheLaw gives his thoughts on a few drawbacks to in-house life: …But there are occasional drawbacks to working in-house, and I try to share those with the world when I notice them. Three recently came to my attention. … Read more
What do you wish someone had told you when you were a first-year lawyer?
What do you wish someone had told you as a first-year lawyer? Chime in over at the ABA Journal: Last week, Dallas-based lawyer career coach Cordell Parvin (who practiced law for 36 years) asked and answered this question at his eponymous blog: What do I wish someone had told me when I was a first … Read more
Breaking the reactive cycle in-house
Some wise words from Canada: Law departments across Canada should see themselves, and be seen company-wide, as integral parts of their corporate clients’ businesses. As in-house counsel, we can provide much more value if we’re not merely a group that’s brought in just to give a last-minute legal blessing or to fix a problem that … Read more
In-House Lawyer Hit With Malpractice Charge After Employee Deposition
A cautionary tale for in-house counsel: A court of appeals found that when an in-house counsel took an employee’s deposition without giving him proper warning, and that employee was subsequently fired because of what he disclosed, it may have been malpractice and the suit against the counsel should continue. Read: In-House Lawyer Hit With Malpractice … Read more
Lawyer admits napping at trial, but rates his performance an 8 or a 9
Just imagine the rating he would have given himself had he been awake the entire time: A Texas lawyer blamed sleep apnea for his naps during the trial of a drunken driving defendant, but defended his courtroom performance. Texas lawyer Martin Zimmerman rated his performance in the case of Daniel Textor Jr. an eight or … Read more
Survey: Lawyers Contribute Least to Society
Happy Monday, dear readers. A new survey is in and the results are not pretty: Americans were asked to rate 10 professions on their contributions to society. Lawyers were dead last. Read: Sad: Lawyers Contribute Least to Society at LexBlog.
Your Outside Counsel Needs Professional Telepathy
If you are looking at rankings and blended rates, you may not be evaluating the right criteria in your outside counsel. As the ABA Journal and BloombergLaw report in an interview with a prominent GC, professional telepathy and other factors may be more important to your organization: Trevor Faure, Global Leader of Legal Services for … Read more
Unhappiest Job in America? Take a Guess
TGIF! According to a recent piece at AboveTheLaw, the unhappiest job in America is exactly the one you’d expect. Head over to their site to see if your suspicions are correct. [Read: Unhappiest Job in America? Take a Guess at Above The Law]
A lawyer’s regret: ‘…work was all that was left’
With the increasing advances of technology and a 24 hour work cycle, have you ever felt regret at your career? It’s not unusual, as you might imagine: “A tax lawyer who became chief financial officer of Lehman Brothers is doing some soul searching since the company imploded in 2008. And she’s not happy about her … Read more
Weight Gain Is Apparently a Hazard of the Job for Lawyers
Weight gain – another by-product of life in the law: If you find yourself packing on the pounds at your latest legal job, you’re not alone. A recent survey of more than 5,700 workers found that lawyers and judges are among those most likely to report a weight gain at their current job. [via: Weight … Read more