index

Ten Things: An Index to All the Posts (November 2014 to August 2024)

Hello, my friends and welcome to a special edition of “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel!”  I get a lot of emails and comments about the blog from in-house lawyers all over the world (and on occasion from obscure European royalty, third-rate celebrities, and a random super-model).  Most of it is very positive (thank you!).  Occasionally, I get one that isn’t so positive.  In particular, this one:

“Hey, you lazy bastard – could you get off your ass and post an index to all of the blogs?  It’s been over two years and trying to find something useful is more painful than digging through one of your overly long books.  Stop being such a selfish asshole and post an index!”

Wow.  I guess three things come to mind reading this.  First, mom, calm down.  I’ll get to it.  Just call me next time. Jeez!  Second, my books are just as long as the ABA lets me get away with (… just wait ‘til the next one).  And third, she’s right.  It’s been way too long since I posted an index to all of the blogs – especially since we are now well into year ten and I have posted 166 of these 3,000+ word missives!   So, let’s step back a minute here.  Obviously, I know it’s a pain in the ass to wade through all of the blogs and try to find what you’re looking for.[1]  And we’ve picked up a few gajillion new subscribers since early 2022 (the last index) – and they likely have no clue what’s waiting for them deep in the stinky bowels of the Ten Things Vault of Goodness.[2]  I guess the same may be true for long-time readers as well (though they are used to the malodorousness[3] of my writing). Sometimes, even I cannot find something in there.  So, for all of you new kids, crusty veterans, and cranky moms, this index post is long overdue.  I know I keep threatening to put a real index on the site but that kind of takes away from all of the fun of sifting through all the junk and crap to find … well, more junk and crap.  Or put it this way – no one from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop is banging on my door to join up.  Sorry, but that’s the cold bitch slap of truth I deal with every day here in Blog Land.  So, there’s that!  On the good side, however, I cannot thank all of you enough for reading the blog, sharing the blog, buying the books, the emails, posting LinkedIn notes, conspiring with the ABA to make sure I meet deadlines, and everything else that makes cranking out this blog something I truly enjoy.  It really has been a lot of fun.  And I still have a lot of things I want to write about, so feeling pretty good about year eleven!

Okay, enough of that.  Let’s get going!  This edition of “Ten Things” sets out – in chronological order – all of the “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel” blogs,[4] from the November 2014 introduction to last month’s post on how to develop good judgment.  And as always, it was fun for me to look back through a lot of these (like watching home movies of the kids with Mrs. Ten Things).  Like last time, I found a few surprises that made me go, “When did I write that and why haven’t I been arrested?” and “Why is my punctuation so bad – don’t I use Grammarly?”  All right, let’s get the party started.  You wanted it, you got it.  Here we go:

(more…)

Ten Things: An Index to All the Posts (November 2014 – February 2022)

Howdy, everyone!  Greetings again from Texas.  It’s been a while since I last did an index to all of the posts in the “Ten Things” blog.  Since the last one (July 2020), we’ve added over 1,300 new subscribers and we are now over 5,400!   And we are well into year eight of the blog.  All of which 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.  That said, I know it can be a pain in the ass to wade through all of the blogs and try to find what you’re looking for.  So, for all of you new kids and for you crusty veterans, this index post is long overdue.  I may get around to putting an index on the site, but if you saw my desk, you’d realize just how much of a pipe dream that is.  I do have a new blog ready to go, but have decided to publish it next month and we’ll put the “act” back into “practical” (man, that sounded way better in my head).

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 building your executive presence in-house.  It was fun for me to look back through these.  I found a few surprises that made me go “when did I write that?” and “why do I have so much free time?”  The first ones are a little rough, but I got better – I think.  You be the judge:

(more…)

Ten Things: An Index to all the Posts (November 2014 to 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 grown to well over 2,000 direct subscribers and the American Bar Association has published my book (based on the blog) entitled “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel: Practical Advice and Successful Strategies.”  Speaking of which, last week I received the highest compliment I could imagine about the book: my Dad read it and said it was “pretty good!”  All heady stuff for a guy who started out just wanting to jot down some of the things he learned over the course of a 20+ year career as an in-house lawyer.

I know there are a lot of great blogs and websites out there for you to read (and I’ll be writing about those later this year).  So, I am very appreciative of the fact that you make time to read my posts.  Based on the comments, the emails, and from talking with many of you directly, I hope I can continue to write about things that interest you and do so in a way that is practical and useful.  If not, then I have missed my mark.  I know I have missed my mark with being able to prepare a proper index on the actual blog site.  I am still a bit wary about messing with the technical aspects of WordPress because I think I’ll delete everything.  I know that’s not really likely, but that’s my biggest fear.  Anyway, I promise I’ll keep working on it but in the meanwhile, by popular demand(?), here is an index of all of the posts from the beginning back in November 2014 through today:

(more…)

Ten Things: Index to All the Posts (November 2014 to May 2016)

It has been about 18 months since I published the first “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel” blog post.   I have to admit that I continue to be surprised by the popularity of the blog.  I have tried hard to consistently write about things that matter to in-house counsel and do so in a way that is practical, informative, and actionable – drawing on my own experience of 20+ years as an in-house lawyer.   That fact that you guys find it interesting just blows my mind sometimes.  The blog has almost 900 direct followers (and I hope to get that number to over 1,000 sometime this year).  There are also thousands of in-direct followers who get the blog via an email blast or through one of the number of legal publications that re-publish many of the posts.  What I really appreciate, however, is the many, many emails and Linked-In notes I get from readers all over the world: from Canada, UK, India, Singapore, the Middle East, Central and South America, Asia, Turkey, and of course, the USA.  I enjoy hearing from all of you (good or bad), especially if you find the blog helpful or, even better, if you have ideas for future posts.  Always feel free to contact me if you have feedback, questions, or ideas.

As you have probably guessed by now, I love to write.  You can follow me daily on Twitter at @10ThingsLegal where I post things of interest to in-house counsel daily.  I also post more substantive (but short) articles on Linked-In just about every day as well. Check out the posts on my Linked-In publication wall (and feel free to connect with me as well).  I write a monthly column for Thomson Reuter’s “Corporate Counsel Connect” e-zine called “The Insider.”  And my first book, “The Evolution of Professional Football” (American football that is), is available at www.SterlingMillerBooks.com and on Amazon.  Which brings me to some more exciting news – “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel” is in the first stages of becoming its own book.  Stay tuned for more information about when it will be available to buy (hard copy and e-book).  I will also be looking for some people to write short blurbs/forward material to include in the book, so let me know if you’re interested in doing that.

As I noted in my first few posts, I am not the most tech-savvy blogger.  But, I have learned a lot over the past 18 months and I am getting better at things.  One thing I have not figured out yet is how to create a really useful index of all of the posts.  You can search month-by-month on the site, but I am still trying to figure out how to build-out an index by category or by title.  Bear with me on that.  It will happen!  And if you have any ideas, feel free to share them.  Until then, it’s a good point in time for a comprehensive index of “Ten Things” posts (all 39 of them), hyper-linked and in chronological order from past to most current:

(more…)

Ten Things: The First Year – An Index of Posts (November 2014 to November 2015)

As most of you know by now, I retired from Sabre Corporation in November 2014 as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer.   Shortly after that, I began the “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel” blog, even though I had never blogged before or thought anyone would be that interested in what I had say.  My goal at the time was to write down a lot of the hard (and easy) lessons I learned over 20+ years as an in-house lawyer and share them with you.  Today, that’s still the goal and, as of November 28,  I am celebrating one year of posts – 28 in all!  My plan is to keep going until someone tells me to stop (most likely that little voice in the back of your head that says “enough is enough”).   We’re not there yet, so lots more planned for Year Two!

As always, thank you for reading the blog and for sending me your comments and ideas for future posts.  I do read them all and I have used a number of them already (and will continue to, so keep sending them).  Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to click on “follow”, regularly read the email updates I send out, and forward the blog to your friends and colleagues. I also want to thank the good folks at Westlaw, LexisNexis, and Texas Lawbook for republishing a number of the posts in their publications for in-house counsel.

(more…)

Ten Things: Index of Posts (November 2014 to May 2015)

I retired from Sabre Corporation in November 2014 as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer. It was a great ride but it became clear to me that I was ready to give something new a try. Shortly after I left Sabre I was speaking at a legal conference in Dallas and was chatting with a couple of the attendees after my presentation. They asked me a pretty simple question: What do you need to do to become general counsel? I thought about for a minute and then listed off several things that I had done and thought were important on my way up the legal department ladder beginning some 20+ years ago as a first-level in-house attorney at American Airlines. As I answered the question, I had a thought: Maybe I should be writing some of this stuff down! And that was the beginning of this blog where basically I just try to write down lessons learned (hard ones and easy ones) over my 20 years as in-house counsel.

(more…)