The Business Counselor Blog™

Attorney-Client Relationships: Attorney Duties and Liabilities

I recently had the need to revisit in detail the various professional duties that lawyers have to their clients and the liabilities associated with failing to live up to those duties.  The attached report provides an overview of things that lawyers need to keep in mind as they begin and continue engagements with their clients. 

Law Firm Training and Development Programs

Training and development programs for all lawyers and non-attorney personnel are important tools in building and preserving a competitive advantage for law firms.  This post provides an overview of the evolution of law firm training programs and information regarding curriculum development.

Wanna Be a GC - Check This Out

In-house lawyers are under fire, and under indictment, for real and perceived mistakes in an era of increased scrutiny in the corporate governance area.  Nonetheless, the demand for in-house positions remains strong and each new opening typically attracts a number of well-qualified applicants.  What does it take to land a GC gig?  Well, an article in the Fulton County Daily Report, titled Recruiters List the Resume Essentials for GC Wannabes, includes the following list of some of the top indicators of GC success as identified by a group of top recruiters:

• One of the most important factors, and perhaps the first one that recruiters look at when culling a list of applicants, is the right transactional experience.  In the case of a public company this generally means a background in the corporate securities area.  Of course, the specific industry and activities of the company will be relevant and real estate companies will obviously want someone who has been through a number of real estate transactions.  Companies also strongly prefer candidates who have already been a GC at another company—they don’t really want to pay a fee for someone to grow into the job.  Litigators are generally not part of the mix since the GC rarely tries cases and wants to stay out of court as much as possible.
• Candidates need to provide evidence that they have the right values, which include maturity, judgment, vision and leadership skills.
• Knowledge of, and experience with, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is obviously important for public companies and is also relevant for private companies to the extent that they are looking to go public or be acquired by a public company in the future.
• Assuming the GC will oversee a staff of attorneys and other legal professionals (i.e., paralegals), the candidate should have the right management skills.  This includes the ability to set and follow departmental budgets, evaluate new hires and existing employees, and train and motivate staffers.
• Other factors mentioned by recruiters include a willingness to accept a hefty pay cut (and take a base salary below what law firms are offering to rookies just out of law school), a willingness to assume more responsibility and risk, an interest in the business aspects of the company’s operations, and the ability to get along with a diverse group of people in all different departments (many of which will have preconceived negative connotations of lawyers for no particularly good reason).