We know that the U.S is a highly litigious society, but did you know the U.S. legal system is the most costly, too?
The way our legal system works is problematic for companies, large and small. The costs of doing business will be increased by the high costs of litigation and budget cuts that will inevitably be made for businesses to survive in this economic climate. Don't let your job be on the chopping board.
It’s important to keep your state bar filings current. If you don’t submit the required updates at the required time, your license could be suspended. Even if you’re in-house.
Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that a lower court had properly ordered a six-month suspension for an in-house attorney who kept practicing after her license was administratively suspended, BNA reports.
We’ve previously discussed how to beef up your résumé to go in-house, and how much in-house jobs pay.
But those tips won’t help you unless you can find one of those magical in-house listings. So today, we’re helping you out with a list of 5 sites to search for in-house jobs.
Jack-of-all-trades - that's what you'll be. As the in-house attorney for your company, you are going to need to know finance, contracts, employment law, accounting, law department management, liability, indemnity, and confidentiality. There's probably more, but hey,that's what the conference is for, right?
The Association of Corporate Counsel will have its annual Corporate Counsel University intensive program from May 19-21 in New Orleans, LA at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. From the Google Map, it looks like you'll be near both the French Quarter and the Coyote Ugly Saloon, which we can only assume is related to the landmark "women dancing on bars" film of the same name.
In-house counsel seems like the ideal legal gig.
Power. Prestige. Stock options. Who doesn’t dream of such things?
But in-house jobs aren’t reserved solely for those lawyers who have paid their legal dues. There’s often room in the GC’s office for fledgling lawyers. Sometimes, there’s even room at the top.
Though every person has their own individual pet peeves, there are some acts that will irritate even the most even-keeled Ghandi-like attorney.
As we’ve learned from the annual ranking of the highest paid general counsel, going in-house can mean big money.
Last year, the highest paid lawyer in the U.S. was actually CBS General Counsel Louis Briskman. In 2011, Briskman’s cash compensation was $6.5 million, and his total take home pay was over $14.6 million, Above the Law reports. In fact, all of the top 10 highest paid GCs cleared the $3 million mark in total pay. If you’re dreaming of going in-house, these men and women will inspire you to think big.
But what about the experienced in-house attorneys who aren’t quite up to the seven-figure salary? What do they earn?
Nordstrom’s “TweetUp” promotion is pretty standard fare, as far as stores’ social media campaigns go. When a store is set to open, they’ll have a preview day for bloggers, the Twitterati, Pinterizers, and others of that ilk. The social media elite who are invited are given gifts, including $50 gift cards, to write or tweet about the event.
That’s all kosher. Many companies do it, including McDonald’s ongoing “mom blogger” campaign. What Nordstrom neglected, however, was to tell the bloggers to provide the requisite disclaimers about gifts received, etc.
Remember Anthony Weiner? The former Congressman tweeted a picture of his eponymous member to his Twitter followers by accident while trying to send it to a woman he was courting over the Internet. What about the Kitchen Aid fiasco? One of their employees made a tasteless joke about President Obama’s late grandmother.
Weiner went from rising start to former Congressman. Kitchen Aid fired the employee and dealt with the backlash for weeks, according to Mashable. How can your company prevent a social media slip-up? And what do you do, to prevent lawsuits, if an errant tweet leads to trouble?
There's a theory that once you go in-house, you can never go back. There are enough attorneys who have made the switch between the two to suggest that theory isn't absolute, but it should still factor into a prospective in-house attorney's considerations before making the jump.
Will you be satisfied with your salary if you can't go back to a law firm? How will your in-house pay compare to that of your peers on the cusp of making partner?
We recently compared entry-level and early years' salaries between in-house counsel and traditional practitioners. Based on those numbers, going corporate looked like a good bet. Today, we're moving on to in-house counsel salaries during the fourth through ninth years of practice.
