Women Key Asset at Legal Firms Why should your firm care that Vault recently announced its ''Top-25 Law Firms for Women''? Because companies that are not emphasizing recruiting and retaining women attorneys are going to find themselves out of the game. ''It is an absolute business imperative in the modern age,'' explains Mary B. Cranston, the firm chair at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP. She... (15 views)
Growing Trend In Large Law Firms Bearing Fruit As Public Interest Attorneys Make Partner Growing Trend In Large Law Firms Bearing Fruit As Public Interest Attorneys Make Partner While there are large law firms out there that run highly effective pro bono programs headed up by non-attorney professionals, in the last ten years there has been ''an enormous upswing'' of efforts led by attorneys, says Esther Lardent, President of the Pro Bono Institute, which is... (1930 views)
Reasons on why E-billing by Corporate Law offices is slowly gaining pace Electronic billing can be controversial, rewarding, complicated, and expensive. Its promoters believe its benefits far outweigh its detriments. Those less sanguine cite increased processing difficulties and added expense. Considering the mixed reactions to electronic billing, why are, according to one survey, approximately 28 percent of corporate law offices considering... (1600 views)
After Law School, B-School: The Rise of M.B.A.'s Among Attorneys Whether an attorney wants to hang up his/her shingle, impress a big firm's corporate department, work in-house for a large corporation, change gears or careers, or simply offer better business advice to existing and new clients, obtaining an M.B.A. may be the ticket to success. One of the most marketable degrees, the M.B.A. is quickly becoming the degree of choice for... (9533 views)
Life Sciences: The Rising New Practice Look no further than the complicated, costly process involved with developing a new drug, biologic, or medical device to understand why life science law practices are growing. According to a December 2004 Standard & Poor's Industry Survey on Biotechnology, creating a single new drug often requires researching and reviewing more than 10,000 substances. The report also... (31 views)
Can you still survive "At Will" : Employment woes in legal firms Do you have clients who tend to fire employees without cause because they have let their employees know that their employment is at-will? Tell your client to think again. With all the protections allotted employees, some lawyers believe that the at-will doctrine has gone by the wayside. There is an expanding number of protected classes and protected activities;... (56 views)
Employee Dispute Resolution Programs Jury Trial Waivers Instead of Arbitration Clauses There was a time when mandatory arbitration seemed like a panacea for employers when it came to employment disputes. Yet in practice, a number of problems not anticipated by employers has caused them to look at jury trial waivers as a way to cut the costs of employment disputes. (87 views)
Benefits of a Small Legal Firm, Career in Law and Hiring A complex business litigator, Larry C. Russ has handled his share of interesting and downright fun clients. Take the Yahoo Yodeler. In 2002, Russ represented Wylie Gustafson, a country music performer who in 1996 recorded the now famous yodel for the Internet company. Gustafson had received $590 for what he understood to be a one-time use of his yodel for a commercial. But... (79 views)
How LeHocky got a job in a legal firm through LexisNexis Mark LeHocky, the current Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc., started his career the same way most law school students do—as a summer clerk. (21 views)
Guide to intellectual property law Probably the hottest practice group in all respects for the past several years has been intellectual property law. However, many attorneys have little idea (1) what intellectual property law is, (2) why intellectual property is so popular, and (3) the types of intellectual property attorneys that are most marketable. The purpose of this article is to answer these... (243 views)
Meltdown in corporate work Since late 2000, as every attorney knows, there has been a marked slowdown in the amount of available corporate work. The number of layoffs that has occurred in the market is severe and is not improving. On the recruiting side, many major recruiting firms claim to not have made a placement of a corporate associate in more than a year. Most major law firms have instituted... (11 views)
Changing your practice area So You Want to Switch Your Practice Area? In a lot of respects, the path attorneys take to joining a particular practice area is nothing short of insane. Most attorneys interview for summer-associate jobs, take the best summer job they can get, and join a particular firm without much thought as to what practice area they will be in. Given that people spend a significant... (513 views)
The 'dark Side' Of Going In House Introduction The purpose of this article is to provide you with insight as to whether or not you should go in-house. Many attorneys claim that going in-house was their best career move. Conversely, some attorneys claim it was their biggest career mistake. In the end, going in-house is entirely up to you. You need to understand, however, that the decision to go in-house... (222 views)
Taking a hiatus from practicing law It is becoming increasingly common for attorneys desiring more than a few weeks off from the practice of law to simply quit their current jobs. Unlike some other professions, most law firms do not look favorably upon attorneys' taking more than a few weeks off unless they are involved in "a major life event." In the calculus of most law firms, a "major life event" is... (83 views)
The Right and Wrong Reasons To Quit Practicing Law As a legal recruiter and a former lawyer, I come into contact with a lot of attorneys on a daily basis. What I have noticed is that too many attorneys quit practicing law and choose alternative careers for all the wrong reasons. (343 views)
Types of Law Firms and How They Affect Your Legal Career The type of law firm you are in as an attorney is vital for your future career. Unfortunately, many attorneys do not realize this and have their careers not picked up or ended abruptly because they are in the wrong type of law firm. (61 views)