I have written a lot about delegation, both in the blog and in my last two books, Showing the Value of the Legal Department and The Productive In-House Lawyer. Specifically, I write a lot about why delegation is important and how to do it. This past week or so it has dawned on me that I have not really spent any time talking about what to delegate other than a few asides thrown in here and there. That is an oversight I would like to correct. Like many of my blog posts, one of the first things I do is search to see if anyone else has already written on the topic. I really couldn’t find anything written on what in-house lawyers should delegate. This generally means I have a pretty wide-open field to play in, which I plan to take full advantage of![1] I decided to do what I almost always do and that is reach back to my past and think about the things that were delegated to me as a young in-house lawyer (some), things that I asked to have delegated to me (a lot), and things that I delegated to my team once I was in a position to do so (plenty but should have been more). All of what you read below is pretty specific to my in-house experience – though I suspect they are universal to any in-house lawyer in any legal department anywhere in the world. So, fill up the coffee mug and get ready to go deep into the world of delegation as this edition of “Ten Things” takes on the task of setting out things in-house lawyers can (and should) delegate.
sterling miller
Ten Things: I Am On Two Podcasts This Month – How The Hell Did That Happen?!
It has been a fun month or so for me because I had the true pleasure of appearing on two of the best podcasts for in-house lawyers. The first is “The Legal Department” hosted by Stacy Bratcher, CLO at Cottage Health. The second is the “Legal Leaders” podcast hosted by David Lancelot, CLO at LawVu. Stacy and I chatted in depth about productivity for in-house lawyers, including slaying the email monster and escaping meeting hell (as well as my go-to pump-me-up song). David and I spoke about a variety of topics about practicing in-house, including technology and the keys to being an effective in-house lawyer (and if you listen closely you can hear my dog snoring blissfully in the background). Both hosts asked outstanding questions and made it very easy for me to engage with them (and covering up my blathering). So, grab some coffee and Oreos and give them a listen. I think you will find a lot to like in both podcasts – mostly from the hosts.
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Ten Things: Solving Problems (It’s Different In-House)
One of the reasons I wanted to become a lawyer was to solve problems. The added bonus was the expectation that someone would pay me (a lot) to read and write stuff to help solve those problems. How cool is that?[1] Law school and then working at a law firm for a number of years post-graduation were both fantastic training for how to solve problems. Well, how to solve legal problems. When I finally got my chance to go in-house, I learned pretty quickly that all my “legal-problem-solving-skills” were useful but many of the problems I was called upon to help with involved only a small amount of legal-ness and a lot of “other stuff” – I’ll just call that other stuff “business issues” to save time (but if you work in-house, you know exactly what I am talking about). Unfortunately, this meant that a lot of what I thought I brought to the table was useful only part of the time, i.e., solving problems as an in-house lawyer is very different from solving them as an outside lawyer. Skip forward a few centuries, and I can proudly say that I have been a lawyer for a long time with most of that time spent in-house – I survived the crucible of fire and walked away with my sanity (and all of my toes). Some don’t.[2] Why? Because, even now, one thing I consistently see from many in-house lawyers is an inability to grasp the very real difference between what the company needs from them when it comes to solving problems vs. what it needs from outside lawyers. Many lawyers (in-house or law firm) tend to fall back on the mind-numbingly rigid dogma[3] of treating every problem like a law school exam. More troubling, even when they know it’s not a legal problem they are trying to solve, they simply don’t know the way forward and fall back into the same pit of despair and anguish. Fortunately, I screwed this up enough times over the decades (and am still coated heavily in despair and anguish) that I can share a little knowledge with you here today. That’s right. This edition of “Ten Things” discusses something I bet no one has raised with you before — how to solve problems as an in-house lawyer:
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Ten Things: “Cool Tech” for In-House Counsel (2024 Edition)
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of “Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel!” This is one of my favorite posts of the year because every summer for the past nine years or so, I have written about “cool tech” for in-house lawyers – and this year is no exception. If you would like to see past editions of the “cool tech” edition, check out footnote 1 below.[1] As always, I have been scanning the technology horizon like Captain Ahab, searching for the most elusive prize of all – useful technology that will make in-house lawyers more productive (in addition to making work easier and – hopefully – more fun and interesting). In my new book on productivity for in-house lawyers, I have chapters on technology generally and ChatGPT specifically. And if you have been reading my other books, this blog, or my LinkedIn posts over the years, you know that I am a big fan of technology, especially technology that enhances the productivity of the legal department and its value to the business.
As always, I like to find and highlight technology that is easy to use and low cost – delivering big value with little effort or expense (though occasionally – like today – I will highlight something that is a bigger lift cost-wise but likely to pay big dividends). As usual, I make no promises or warranties of any kind, implied or express (got to cover my ass when I can) and I can also assure you that I get nothing for recommending the technology below. I just think these are all useful tools and worth your time checking them out. Ready to get into it? Great, here we go with my “Ten Things” cool tech 2024 edition:
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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:
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Ten Things: How to Develop “Good Judgment” – What In-House Lawyers Need to Know (and Do)
Hello again my friends. Now that the new book on productivity is finally available to buy, I have had a bit more time to go back through the “Ten Things” mailbag. I get lots of emails from all over the world asking me questions or suggesting topics. And I love it (so please keep doing that)! One email stood out. Someone reported that they recently had a mid-year review and one area of improvement for them is to develop “better judgment.” They asked me for some tips on how to go about doing this. Fortunately, I have a few tips to scatter about here today. As usual, most of these were learned the hard way, i.e., by screwing up and stumbling along over the course of many years as an in-house lawyer. My judgment certainly needed improvement early in my career (and to some extent even today, e.g., why did I think eating half a bag of Oreos last week was a good idea? It wasn’t…[1]). While I screwed up a lot, I did (and do) have a knack for learning the lesson the first time. So, over time, I started to figure out what I needed to do to hone my judgment. Want to get wiser than King Solomon? Want to put those smug bastards Plato and Aristotle in their place? Then keep reading as this edition of “Ten Things” walks you through what in-house lawyers need to know about developing good judgment:
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Ten Things: The Newest and Bestest Book on Productivity For In-House Lawyers is Out!
The wait is over! Well, maybe just for me. It took a while, but my sixth book, “Productivity for In-House Lawyers: Tips, Hacks, and the Art of Getting Things Done” is now available for purchase. If you are struggling to manage everything on your plate or just want to be more efficient day-to-day, I have collected all of my best tips and hacks for increasing productivity in the unique world of practicing as an in-house lawyer (though anyone can probably benefit from the book). You can buy it here: Productivity Book.
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Ten Things: How to Create a Strategic Plan for the Legal Department
Running an in-house legal department is not an easy job, regardless of whether you are a legal department of one or a legal department of 200. To start, there is never enough money, people, or time to get everything done. Second, priorities change frequently so prioritizing where to focus your scant resources is a challenge. Third, the business often considers (wrongly) that the legal department is simply another cost center and/or necessary evil, meaning the legal team is ignored or marginalized – treated like outsiders vs. an integral part of the business. And fourth, the legal department often lacks strategic direction, reacting to problems vs. planning for them. I have dealt with (including failing at) all of these issues – and more – as an in-house lawyer, especially as general counsel for multiple companies over the course of a long in-house legal career. I wish I could tell you that solving these problems is easy, but it is not. The biggest hurdle is that it’s hard to plan in advance when most of your day is spent frantically trying to dig out from under the incredible amount of work dumped on your desk or when cleaning up the latest catastrophe brought on by the knuckleheads in [insert business group name here]. Still, in order to be successful as an in-house lawyer and create a legal function that fits snugly within the cloak of the company’s strategic goals and plans you must make time for planning. It’s that simple. Sure, you can mutter curses at me under your breath or chuck imaginary (or real)[1] rocks at your screen as you read this, but I am just telling you what you need to hear – not what you want to hear. The good news is that creating a strategic plan for the legal department is difficult but pretty straightforward and something you can accomplish if you set your mind to it (and let others help). So, hold the rocks and creative profanity for a few minutes as this edition of “Ten Things” discusses how you go about creating a strategic plan for the legal department:
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Ten Things: What to Do When You Don’t Know the Answer
Everyone likes to know the answer to questions that come their way at work, none more so than in-house lawyers. Lawyers take special pride in being able to respond to practically any question, on any topic, at any time. They can do this because they are, typically, very smart, well-read, and at ease with murky situations. However, occasionally, and usually at the worst possible moment, someone in the business will ask an in-house lawyer a question and they will have no idea how to answer it. This happened to me on more than one occasion and it was incredibly frustrating for me and whoever was asking the question – usually the CEO or a board member. Why were they frustrated? Well, because like most people on the business side they believe two things that make your job as in-house counsel even harder: 1) all lawyers know everything about all areas of the law regardless of their background or specialty, and 2) that there is a “Big Book of Law” we keep on a shelf that has all the answers to every legal question and all we lawyers have to do is take it down and find the right page. Yeah, right…. So, what do you do when you get a question you don’t know the answer to (especially when they are looking right at you across the table)? This edition of “Ten Things” set out some strategies to help you navigate this tricky situation:
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Ten Things: Essential Issues for In-House Counsel (2024 Edition)
Hello again everyone and welcome to 2024! If you are a long-time reader of the blog, you know that I start the new year with a list of issues I believe in-house lawyers should pay attention to over the coming 12 months. I started doing this when I first became a general counsel way back when and something I kept doing throughout my in-house career. I still do it now as CEO of the Hilgers Graben law firm. To sum it up, I spend time thinking about developments, trends, and issues that may have a material impact on the legal department/business over the course of the new year. How did/do I do this? Here are the basics:
- It starts with simply gathering information. As general counsel, that meant (over the last few months of the year) speaking with other in-house lawyers and outside counsel, reading newspapers, blogs, industry reports, attending conferences, sitting in on meetings within the business, asking business leaders at the company, asking my team what they were seeing, and just generally paying attention to what was going on around me. Information is gold to in-house lawyers, the currency of the realm. Be greedy and gather up as much as you can.
- Once I spotted a potential issue, I looked at it from multiple angles and asked this question: How might this affect the company and the legal department? Answering this question meant I had to understand the company’s goals and strategy so I could spot and manage risks and I had to be a strategic thinker, looking beyond just the legal issues that might be at stake. One thing that has helped me over the years in terms of looking at issues from multiple angles is the “Phoenix Questions” (discussed in more detail below).
- From there, I made a list of the most critical issues I spotted and worked them into the goals and activities of the legal department for the upcoming year. To assist me with this process, I created multiple checklists to help quickly analyze the potential risks and strategic implications of the items on my list. Here is a version of one checklist, and it’s a helpful filter when you look at things coming across your desk day in and day out:
- Is this something that can create or destroy value for the company?
- How does this fit into my company’s strategic goals?
- What is the quantitative/qualitative impact of this?
- Could this be a game-changer and how so?
- Is this something a regulator might care about or lead to litigation?
- Who is impacted by this – company, competitors, vendors, customers – and how so?
- What happens if I apply game theory to this?
- Who needs to know about this in the department/company?
- How can we create a competitive advantage from this?
- Have others had problems or success with this before and what are the lessons already learned?
How you answer these questions tells you a lot about the issue you are analyzing and whether it matters or not. You do not need a checklist, but it’s a tool that can help you quickly sort through a lot of information. You could also use an Eisenhower Matrix (2×2) to plot issues, focusing on the ones you put in the upper right quadrant (and understand that you may move items around over the course of the year). Regardless of what you use, It’s really all about finding a consistent framework to use to consider and think about whatever is in front of you. So, there you go. Enough theory, it’s time to get on with another year of Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel and my list of critical issues in-house lawyers should pay attention to and plan against for 2024:
Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel® 