Ten Things: Making Legal the Department of Yes
December 2017
This will be my last post of 2017. The year has certainly flown by! Thank you all once again for continuing to read the blog (going on four years now!), for sharing it with …
Ten Things: Legal Blogs You Should Check Out (2017 Edition)
November 2017
When I first started writing this blog back in November 2014, I had no idea what I was doing. While some might say I still don’t (thanks, Mom!), I have gotten better at it. …
Ten Things: Creating an In-House Patent Program
November 2017
I was looking back on my past blogs recently and I realized that it has been a while since I discussed issues related to intellectual property (“IP”). This week, I’ll try to …
Ten Things: Things That Should Scare the S#%@ Out of In-House Lawyers
October 2017
Most of my friends know that I really enjoy Halloween. While the free candy part is pretty good, I have always liked a good scare. And this time of the year is full of them. …
Ten Things: How to Prepare an Annual Legal Department Budget
October 2017
Fall is my favorite time of the year. The weather’s cooler, the trees change color, and football (American style) permeates the airwaves. If you’re big into Halloween (and I …
Ten Things: Things In-House Counsel Should be Doing Before a Data Breach Occurs
September 2017
This past week I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the 2017 ACC Alberta Annual Conference in Calgary. First, let me say that Calgary is a wonderful city and a great …
Ten Things: Career Killers – Things Not to Do as In-House Counsel
September 2017
I have been an in-house lawyer for almost 25 years, with a large chunk of that time spent as the general counsel. During my time, I have seen my peers and people who worked for …
Ten Things: “Cool Tech” for In-House Lawyers (2017)
August 2017
I was a panelist at the 16th Annual Advanced In-House Counsel Course in San Antonio, Texas on August 18, 2017. I was joined once again by Jason Smith of Apttus and Jane McBride …
Ten Things: Artificial Intelligence – What Every Legal Department Really Needs to Know
August 2017
[Note: this is a summary version of a four-part series I wrote for Thomson Reuters earlier this year with some key updates and new sections. You can find the full series …
Ten Things: Legal Project Management for Beginners
July 2017
Managing a legal project is not an easy task. Not for in-house counsel or for outside counsel. There are simply too many ways for a project to “come off the rails” and turn …
Ten Things: Getting the Most Out of Mediation
July 2017
Almost all in-house lawyers have dealt with mediation at some point. If you haven’t to date, you will. Mediation is a process to resolve disputes between parties where a …
Ten Things: An Index to all the Posts (November 2014 to June 2017)
June 2017
I realized the other day that it has been a while since I posted an index to all of the blog posts – November 2016 to be exact. Since the last time I did this the blog has …
Ten Things: Slaying the Email Jabberwocky
June 2017
I am a fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. So, instead of titling my article slaying the email “beast”- which would be the more conventional path – I am taking a slightly …
Ten Things: How to Make Your In-House Clients Love You (and the Legal Department)
May 2017
One of the great benefits of being an in-house lawyer is that you do not have to spend time chasing clients and developing business. All the work you will ever need is …
Ten Things: What In-House Counsel Need to Know About Social Media Pitfalls
May 2017
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and that may not be such a bad idea these days), you know that “social media” is everywhere. President Trump has certainly underscored …
Ten Things: 10 Essential Legal Department Issues for 2017
April 2017
There are an amazing number of issues, trends, and headaches to keep track of as in-house counsel. So much, that it can be difficult to know what to focus on. When I was …
Ten Things: Basic Finance for In-House Lawyers
April 2017
I know I took an Accounting 101 class in college. But, I remember very little about it other than I somehow managed to pull a “B” in it and something about the “accounting …
Ten Things: Protecting Your Board of Directors
March 2017
At the end of every blog, I always ask my readers to please let me know if they have any topics they would like me to write about. While I don’t get a huge number of …
Ten Things: Getting Internal Investigations Right
March 2017
There are a number of unpleasant tasks that in-house counsel must perform on occasion. Probably near the top of the list is participating in/leading an internal investigation. …
Ten Things: The Essentials of a Successful Trans-Border Transaction
February 2017
One of the most exciting events for an in-house lawyer is when their company becomes involved in a merger/acquisition, joint venture, or other strategic transaction. It …
Ten Things: Ten Things In-House Lawyers Should Read Every Day
February 2017
There is a great episode of the old TV series The Twilight Zone where Burgess Meredith (The Penguin on TV’s Batman/”Mick” in the Rocky films) finds out he is the last man on …
Ten Things: Working from Home – Can it Really Work for In-House Counsel?
January 2017
More and more employers are affording their employees the ability to work from home or “remotely” as it is sometimes called. Studies show pretty convincingly that not only …
Ten Things: Succession Planning for In-House Legal Departments
January 2017
I want to discuss a topic of growing importance to in-house legal departments around the globe: succession planning. It’s no secret that the population is getting older and the …
Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel® 