Greetings from hot, humid Dallas, Texas where I am “sweltering in place” as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wear out its welcome.   It’s so hot and icky here that apparently Satan – on a vacation visit – said, “Screw it, I’m heading back to Hell where it’s cooler!”  Those may not actually be his exact words, but you get the point.

For those of you who have been along for the ride since late 2014, you know that we are coming up on six-years of “Ten Things.”  Along with longevity, we’ve picked up almost 4,200 subscriber “followers” along with hundreds more who get the blog directly through other means.  Many of the posts have been republished in legal newsletters, magazines, law school classroom materials, seminar materials, and other forums.  As I’ve said many times in the past, that all just absolutely, positively blows my mind.  A huge “thank you” to all the loyal readers out there, especially to those who pass along the blogs to friends, colleagues, and on LinkedIn!

As I was working on some new blog posts this past week, I realized that I have not posted an index to all the posts in over three-years.  That’s a long time (and I am first to recognize that it can be clunky to try to work your way to past blogs that might be relevant to what you’re looking for – I guess you get what you pay for with a free WordPress site…).  So, I decided to put the new blogs off to the side for a bit (don’t worry, they’ll be posted soon enough), and put together an updated index to all the posts, going back to November 2014.  I was a little shocked to see that we’re up to number 119!  That’s a big pile of …, well, a big pile of something.  Hopefully, of things you want to read.

Anyway, just in case you needed something more to read while you’re working remotely, or maybe you’re a new follower and had no idea there were so many posts, this edition of “Ten Things” sets out – in chronological order – all of the “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel” blogs, from the November 2014 introduction to last month’s post on improving your 1:1 meetings.  Have fun (and don’t laugh too much at the early ones – I got better!):

1. Introduction (November 26, 2014)
2. How to be a Successful In-House Counsel (November 28, 2014)
3. All I Want for Christmas is a FCPA/Anti-Bribery Health Check (December 4, 2014)
4. Time for a Conversation About Drafting Documents and Emails (December 10, 2014)
5. Your Company Has Just Been Sued. Now What?(December 18, 2014)
6. Help Your Client Get Their Contract Through Legal Quickly (December 23, 2014)
7. Setting Goals for the Legal Department (January 7, 2015)
8. Simple Ways to Retain and Reward Your People (January 14, 2015)
9. Effectively Managing Outside Counsel Spend (January 22, 2015)
10. Running an Effective Staff Meeting (January 30, 2015)
11. Increasing Efficiency in the Legal Department Through Technology (February 6, 2015)
12. How to Run a Government Affairs Campaign (February 17, 2015)
13. Crisis Preparation 101 (March 3, 2015)
14. Trade Secrets and Protecting Your Company (March 19, 2015)
15. Partnering with HR (1 + 1 = 3) (April 2, 2015)
16. Trade Associations and Legal Risk (April 16, 2015)
17. Data Privacy –The Essentials (April 30, 2015)
18. Protecting Your Company’s Reputation and Brand (May 15, 2015)
19. Index to Posts – November 2014 to May 2015 (May 27, 2015)
20. Website User Agreements (June 9, 2015)
21. Explaining Litigation to the Board and the CEO (July 7, 2015)
22. Creating a Client Satisfaction Survey (July 28, 2015)
23. Common Ethics Issues for In-House Counsel (August 18, 2015)
24. Insurance Law Basics for In-House Counsel (September 9, 2015)
25. The Attorney-Client Privilege – What You Need to Know (September 30, 2015)
26. The “Safe Harbor Agreement” Invalidated – What Should I do Next? (October 13, 2015)
27. How to Be More Productive Every Day (October 30, 2015)
28. Preparing for When “Bad Things” Happen (November 24, 2015)
29. Becoming General Counsel (December 21, 2015)
30. Ten Best Legal Blogs for In-House Counsel -2015 (December 29, 2015)
31. In-House Counsel “To Do” List for 2016 (January 12, 2016)
32. Record Retention – Policies, Programs, and More (January 18, 2016)
33. Europe’s New Data Protection Law: What You Really Need to Know (February 9, 2016)
34. Writing Skills for In-House Counsel (It’s Different In-House) (February 16, 2016)
35. What In-House Lawyers Really Want from Outside Counsel (March 14, 2016)
36. Settlement Agreements – Making Sure it’s Really Over (March 31, 2016)
37. Basic Corporate Governance for In-House Counsel (April 18, 2016)
38. Dealing with the Board of Directors (April 29, 2016)
39. Europe’s New Data Privacy Law: What You Really Need to Know (May 13, 2016)
40. Index to All the Posts – November 2014 to May 2016 (May 26, 2016)
41. How to Negotiate: Practical Tips for In-House Counsel (June 14, 2016)
42. Spotting, Analyzing and Managing “Risk” (June 28, 2016)
43. Ten Habits of Highly Effective In-House Lawyers (July 15, 2016)
44. Cool Tech for In-House Lawyers (2016) (July 29, 2016)
45. Litigation Financing – a Primer (August 12, 2016)
46. How to Delegate – The Essentials (August 30, 2016)
47. How to Market the Legal Department to the Business (September 15, 2016)
48. How to Create a Great Legal Department Website (September 29, 2016)
49. The Search for the Perfect Arbitration Clause (October 13, 2016)
50. How to Plan a Legal Department Offsite (October 31, 2016)
51. An Index to All the Posts (November 2014 – November 2016) (November 15, 2016)
52. Preparing Outside Counsel Guidelines – The Keys (November 30, 2016)
53. Legal Blogs You Should Check Out (2016 Edition) (December 16, 2016)
54. Succession Planning for In-House Legal Departments (January 16, 2017)
55. Working From Home: Can it Really Work for In-House Counsel? (January 31, 2017)
56. Ten Things In-House Lawyers Should Read Every Day (February 16, 2017)
57. The Essentials of a Successful Trans-Border Transaction (February 28, 2017)
58. Getting Internal Investigations Right (March 20, 2017)
59. Protecting Your Board of Directors (March 31, 2017)
60. Basic Finance for In-House Lawyers (April 17, 2017)
61. Ten Essential Legal Department Issues for 2017 (What You Should be Focused on Right Now) (April 30, 2017)
62. What In-House Counsel Need to Know About Social Media Pitfalls (May 15, 2017)
63. How to Make Your In-House Clients Love You (and the Legal Department) (May 31, 2017)
64. Slaying the Email Jabberwocky (June 15, 2017)
65. An Index to All the Posts (November 2014 to June 2017) (June 30, 2017)
66. Getting the Most Out of Mediation (July 13, 2017)
67. Legal Project Management for Beginners (July 31, 2017)
68. Artificial Intelligence – What Every Legal Department Really Needs to Know (August 15, 2017)
69. Cool Tech for In-House Lawyers (2017) (August 31, 2017)
70. Career Killers – Ten Things Not to Do as In-House Counsel (September 14, 2017)
71. Things In-House Counsel Should be Doing Before a Data Breach Occurs (September 29, 2017)
72. How to Prepare an Annual Legal Department Budget (October 16, 2017)
73. Things That Should Scare the S#%@ Out of In-House Lawyers (October 31, 2017)
74. Creating an In-House Patent Program (November 11, 2017)
75. Legal Blogs You Should Check Out (2017 Edition) (November 30, 2017)
76. Making Legal the Department of Yes (December 22, 2017)
77. Early Case Assessments – What In-House Lawyers Need to Know (January 15, 2018)
78. Legal Department of One – A Survival Guide (January 31, 2018)
79. How to Lead (February 16, 2018)
80. I Know It’s Only Boilerplate (But I Like It) (March 15, 2018)
81. Ten Essential Legal Issues for In-House Counsel (2018 Edition) (March 29, 2018)
82. Managing a Dispersed Legal Team (April 16, 2018)
83. My Boss is a Total [Censored] … What Do I Do? (April 30, 2018)
84. Sherman Act 2 – The Monopoly Man Cometh (May 14, 2018)
85. Buying and Implementing Legal Tech (May 31, 2018)
86. So You Want to Hold a Contest (and Not Go to Jail)? (June 18, 2018)
87. Creating a Good Contract Playbook (July 17, 2018)
88. What In-House Lawyers Need to Know About Joint Ventures (August 1, 2018)
89. Presenting Legal Issues to Senior Executives (August 20, 2018)
90. Sexual Harassment Claims in the #MeToo Era (September 17, 2018)
91. Cool Tech for In-House Counsel (2018 Edition) (October 1, 2018)
92. Legal Procurement – The Next Big Thing for In-House Lawyers (October 22, 2018)
93. Minimizing Risk in Commercial Contracts (November 12, 2018)
94. What to do When Your Company is the Subject of a Government Investigation

(December 3, 2018)

95. Best Legal Blogs for In-House Counsel (2018 Edition) (December 13, 2018)
96. Essential Legal Issues for In-House Counsel (2019 Edition) (January 24, 2019)
97. Drafting an Enforceable Non-Compete Agreement (February 13, 2019)
98. Building a Strong Compliance Department (March 4, 2019)
99. Using Data Analytics in an In-House Legal Department (March 26, 2019)
100. Legal Operations – What In-House Lawyers Need to Know (April 17, 2019)
101. Attracting, Training, and Retaining In-House Talent (May 16, 2019)
102. A Primer on the Work Product Privilege (June 5, 2019)
103. Running an RFP Process the Right Way (June 28, 2019)
104. Ten KPIs All In-House Legal Departments Should Track (July 23, 2019)
105. Cool-Tech for In-House Lawyers (2019 Edition) (August 15, 2019)
106. How to Read a Contract (August 28, 2019)
107. Escaping Meeting Hell (September 25, 2019)
108. Software Audits – Scary Stuff (October 22, 2019)
109. Looking for a New In-House Job (November 19, 2019)
110. The “Strategic” In-House Lawyer (December 12, 2019)
111. Best Blogs for In-House Counsel (2019 Edition) (December 30, 2019)
112. Essential Issues for In-House Counsel (2020 Edition) (January 27, 2020)
113. Showing the Value of the Legal Department (February 20, 2020)
114. Dealing with a Pandemic (yes, I am Talking about the Corona Virus) (March 16, 2020)
115. Electronic Signatures (What In-House Counsel Need to Know) (April 10, 2020)
116. Ten (Non-Legal) Books All In-House Counsel Should Read (April 30, 2020)
117. Creating a “SWOT” Analysis for the Legal Department (May 26, 2020)
118. More Effective 1:1 Meetings (Employee View) (June 17, 2020)
119. More Effective 1:1 Meetings (Manager View) (June 30, 2020)

Someone recently asked me to name my favorite posts from the list above.  If I had to pick five, I’d go with: “Becoming General Counsel,” “The ‘Strategic In-House Lawyer,” “How to Prepare a Legal Department Budget,” “Slaying the Email Jabberwocky,” and “How to Read a Contract.”  There were so many more I wanted to list (e.g., “Artificial Intelligence – What All Legal Departments Need to Know), but I said five, so there you go.  If you have any favorites, let me know.  I love to get feedback and suggestions for topics from all of you.

Also, if you would like a CLE/webinar for your legal department on any of the “Ten Things” posts, reach out to me at smiller@hilgersgraben.com and we’ll see what we can set up.

*****

That’s it for now – an abbreviated but, hopefully, helpful edition of “Ten Things.”  Thanks again for reading and lots of great stuff still to come in 2020, from litigation management to writing corporate minutes to making yourself “indispensable,” to the 2020 edition of “cool tech.”  All that and more is coming your way!

Take care, stay well, and wear a mask.  If we all do just a little bit we can make a big dent in this pandemic.

Sterling Miller

July 21, 2020

Ten (More) Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel – Practical Advice and Successful Strategies Volume 2 is out.  It’s my second book based on this blog series.  As the ABA says, “All in-house lawyers need to own this book!”  Click here to buy it.

I have three published three other books: Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel – Practical Advice and Successful Strategies, The Evolution of Professional Football, and The Slow-Cooker Savant.  I am also available for speaking engagements, coaching, training, and consulting.

Connect with me on Twitter @10ThingsLegal and LinkedIn where I post articles and stories of interest to in-house counsel frequently.  

“Ten Things” is not legal advice nor legal opinion and represents my views only.  It is intended to provide practical tips and references to the busy in-house practitioner and other readers.  If you have questions or comments, please contact me at sterling.miller@sbcglobal.net.