tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86393823057062130742024-02-20T04:21:26.672-06:00In-House. Out-Takes.With this blog, I hope to share my experiences and thoughts on both a professional and personal level and maybe learn something from those who bother taking the time to read it. Don't expect substantive legal analysis, this is more about the practical side of being in house and dealing with business people. Drop me a line at Tanya(at)InHouseOutTakes(dot)com to let me know how I’m doing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-33136254645391335692018-01-03T12:16:00.004-06:002018-02-28T11:53:52.141-06:00Lawyers as Entrepreneurs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I’ve spent the last decade plus in the world of start-ups,
which has given me a front row view of many different types of entrepreneurs. I’d love to say that I can pick out which
ones will be successful by now, but I’ve bet on the wrong horse a couple of
times because there is no one profile of a successful entrepreneur. However I have discovered that there are a
few traits that successful entrepreneurs have, and you’ll be surprised to hear
that successful in house lawyers share many of these traits.</div>
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<u><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Risk
Taking.</span></u><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Unlike our law firm brethren, in
house counsel are required to have a higher risk tolerance than what lawyers
generally are comfortable with.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Likewise
a successful entrepreneur is most successful when taking risks that others are
not comfortable with.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The difference
between success and failure for both is ensuring that those risks are very
calculated.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sure you can get rich by
speculating on new crypto currency, and you can lose your shirt just as
quickly. To court success you need to reach beyond what the status quo offers
but only in areas where the return on the risk makes sense.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Investing your life savings in a better mouse
trap can have a high return, investing your life savings in beer flavored bubble
gum might not be the best risk to take.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">For lawyers, this means being comfortable
with letting the governing law be New York instead of Delaware but not letting
a bet the company litigation be handled by the lawyers at Better Call
Saul.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Leadership.</span></u><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">No one builds an empire by themselves.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">To launch the next great tech product, at a minimum you need someone
with the skills to write the code, build the website, perform market research
and marketing plans, handle the finances, create the license or service
agreements, sell the product, etc.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">You
might be able to start small, but to grow into a successful company you’ll have
to eventually grow your team.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">And to
make sure they’re all rowing in the same direction, you need get people on
board with your vision. </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If you can’t
generate complete buy in by your early hires, it won’t matter how great of an
idea you have the company won’t be successful.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Similarly for the in house lawyer, you might be able to start out small
reviewing simple contracts.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">But to make
an impact on the company, you’ll need to get other leaders to buy in to your
advice in all areas.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">You’ll have to lead
them to their goals and help them get out of their own way.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Like successful entrepreneurs, successful lawyers
lead their teams through the big and small challenges so that the company can
reach its ultimate goal. </span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><u>General Business Sense.</u></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Some people are born with perfect pitch or an
innate ability to understand math.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Others have a high emotional quotient and are able to easily empathize
with others. To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to have a mixture of
common sense and business sense.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">While
you don’t have to have a degree in accounting, understanding a P&L shouldn’t
be difficult.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Understanding the difference
between market forces and marketing efforts, and having some comfort with
regulatory requirements are also required traits. Successful in house lawyers
need this general business sense as well.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">In order to know when to stand firm on that clause or when to advise
against registering that trademark that will only be used for the next month.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">You also need to have enough financial wherewithal
to know when it makes sense to add headcount to your team, fight for the budget
for that software, or hand something off to a non-lawyer. </span></div>
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One of the smartest things a
successful entrepreneur does is hire the necessary talent before going without
gets painful. This includes bringing in
a good in house lawyer. And sometimes it
means being a good in house lawyer.
Which is why I’m happy to announce that along with my fellow in house
lawyer, Christine Jones, and some incredible tech talent in Neil Proctor, I am
officially joining the ranks of new entrepreneurs with the launch of Aloe<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">TM</span></sup>
law department management solutions at Bigfork Technologies. (<a href="http://www.bigforktech.com/">www.bigforktech.com</a>). </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-84368052992003496052017-10-10T06:49:00.000-05:002017-10-10T06:49:03.325-05:00Embracing the Future<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It seems like every aspect of our world has been touched by technology. I no longer have to lift my arm to hail a cab, I can click Uber or Lyft; I get my coupons and shopping discounts automatically with HEB and Dosh. The kids' school updates me on their grades and daily progress with Bloom and online portals. We can even keep in touch with family with video calls on our Alexa. So why then is it so hard to get legal departments to efficiently embrace technology in their legal operations?<br />
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I've been delving into this issue for awhile, largely because I'm a tech geek at heart and I strongly believe that the in house legal community need to get a better handle on legal operations if they want to stay relevant in a world with Watsons. And I'm not alone. I've recently chatted with a few other GC's about how they are setting up their teams to compete in the new world. One conclusion we keep returning to is that there is a lot of technology out there, but very little that is specifically focused on internal legal departments. <br />
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But just because there isn't a perfect tool yet, shouldn't stop the in house lawyer from embracing technology. I can almost guarantee that your engineering/IT team use some sort of ticketing system, most likely Jira based. They probably also use some sort of collaboration tool like Slack. Many are embracing Google docs or other online collaboration tools. Your sales team is probably utilizing Salesforce and probably a calendaring tool. Your accounting team is using some tool, be it Quickbooks or SAP. To set up these technologies, each team had to start in the same place - an assessment of how the work flows and what could be done better, or made easier by process and technology.<br />
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I know, it's overwhelming to think about mapping out the entire functionality of the legal department. While outside counsel may think all we do is sit in meetings and hand out work to them, and our friends may think all we do is negotiate contracts or argue in court, we know how varied the typical day is for in house legal. Mapping out all of the current processes for negotiating contracts, managing litigation, managing outside counsel, product advice, employment matters, general business advice, etc. is a huge task. Analyzing the result and identifying areas of improvement is even more daunting. This is why more and more companies are hiring a dedicated legal operations professional. <br />
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Although that's not an option for everyone given budget constraints. Other options include hiring a short term consultant to do the mapping and analysis for you, or taking it one process at a time. The former being a larger up front cost, but by looking at the whole picture sooner you can achieve efficiency (and cost savings) sooner. The latter requires incremental improvements which may have to be re-worked as additional flows get added to the map. While it's no fun to do something twice, this option will still generate efficiency in the department. I suggest starting with the workflow that most dominates the team's time. For some that would be contracts, others litigation management or regulatory compliance. The point is to get started wherever you'll get the most bang for your buck. Most likely the subsequent flows will have to revolve around this one by nature of the workload, so you'll minimize the revisions needed. By focusing on one flow at a time, I was able to reduce time to revenue by 60% (focusing on contracts), reduce outside counsel spend by about 10% (adding a corporate compliance module), and reduce litigation by monitoring the trends and being proactive (tracking root causes of complaints). I was also able to report on these efficiencies to my leadership team with some pretty eye candy charts.<br />
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Embracing technology and legal operations will allow you to accomplish more with less. After all, isn't that the mantra we've been hearing from our leadership for the last ten years? <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-59411381424734925052017-07-10T09:30:00.000-05:002017-07-10T09:30:19.297-05:00 Grow or go?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of the largest responsibilities any leader has is to grow their team – not in headcount, but in development, capability and responsibility. A good leader, regardless of the department, should have an idea of where her people want to be in the future and how she and the company can help them reach that goal –while also benefiting the company. So it behooves her to have frank conversations and encourage everyone to do honest assessments of where they are at and where they want to be, including the quantity and quality of the workload they currently have and the bandwidth to take on more.<br />
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Ideally, this conversation starts in the interview process. Beyond the, “where do you see yourself in five years” question, every candidate should be asked about their long term career goals. In a small legal department hiring a second (or third) lawyer who one day wants to be a GC isn’t a bad thing – so long as one day is far enough in the future and the skills they need to develop in order to get there are skills that can be developed in your environment. On the other hand, hiring someone who is ready to be GC now, whether in skill set or mindset, to be the third lawyer in the department is going to make a bad fit, regardless of personality, niche practice or anything else that makes them glow on paper. <br />
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Once you’ve hired the right person, you have to provide opportunities for growth. Let them work on a project that is a stretch. Provide opportunities to lead discussion and interact with the leadership of other departments. Provide training and resources when available. And most of all provide encouragement of the growth. You’ll never get the best work out of someone if they don’t think that you’re on their side. <br />
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As a result, you need to be prepared for when your best employee outgrows you or your organization. After doing an honest assessment of where they’re at in their career, and what your organization has to offer, allow them to determine if they’re happy where they’re at, or if their personal growth requires them to move on. Provide support for whatever decision they make. This doesn’t mean allowing someone to search for a job on company time or begin to deliver less than their best work. But it does mean providing references, introductions and opportunities to be in the “right place” to find their next role. <br />
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And most importantly, allow yourself the same freedom. Even if you’ve reached the top in your organization, you may find yourself unhappy or unsatisfied. You may need to reach for a bigger organization, or ask for a more complex role. I know a few GC that have moved to operating roles and are quite happy. I know others that have moved to public policies and politics. And others still that have taken on business development responsibilities in addition to their legal role. At least once a year, assess your situation. Are you still growing? Do you have the opportunities you need? Or is it time to go?<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-75335074970291354572017-06-26T09:00:00.000-05:002017-06-26T09:00:04.267-05:00Budgeting 101<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: Segoe UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px;">The first time I was asked to prepare the legal department budget I had no idea what I was doing. I’d inherited a budget made by business people with little to no experience in managing legal matters. I’d only started a few weeks prior, so had absolutely no insight into the priorities, strategies or cadence of the business. I really could have used a Budgeting 101 crash course.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: Segoe UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px;">This isn’t unusual when you’re taking over (or starting) a legal team. But it is a challenge. The budget you inherit may or may not be reasonable; if it was created by business people it most likely leaves out operational costs they’re not used to having, and will almost always under-estimate outside counsel spend. Unfortunately, you won’t be in a position to determine any issues with your budget until you’ve lived with it for a few months. By then you’re having to justify deviations from the budget, getting approval to add expenses that weren’t complicated, and if you’re really lucky you may even save on some line items.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: Segoe UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px;">The real fun begins when you enter the next budget cycle (this is especially true if it’s your first time creating a legal budget.) You’ll rack your brain to think of everything that should be included and how to value the contingencies that you should reserve for – and those that you shouldn’t reserve. Depending on the size and maturity of your organization and the industry that you’re in, the average legal budget ranges anywhere from 1-5% of the company’s revenue. So if you’re a small to mid-size private company in a reasonably regulated area with $50MM in revenue, you should expect your budget to be around $500k. Larger companies, more regulated industries, or companies with a history of complicated litigation or major intellectual property issues, you’ll be closer to the 5% mark. If you’re a startup just out of stealth mode, expect your budget to border on non-existent and ‘I can barely pay you, please don’t spend anything else.’ </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: Segoe UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px;">Now you know what your ceiling is expected to be, don’t forget the important things. Salaries go into the budget – marked up with the fully loaded cost. That’s usually your biggest cost. Legal software like contract management, matter management or IP docketing also need to be included. Although depending on the use and integration you may be able to allocate some of this cost to other departments. For example the cost of a contract management software that plugs in to SalesForce may be shared with sales if they use it to process all sales contracts. Registration fees for IP or other licenses are generally going to be allocated to legal. Immigration costs may fall under legal, HR, or may be allocated to the hiring department. And don’t forget professional development – your bar dues, CLE expenses, conferences, etc. If they’re not in the budget, they're coming out of your pocket.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: Segoe UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px;">The harder part of the budget it’s the contingent expenses. No matter how good of a lawyer you are, you will need outside counsel or other outside advice. The trick is budgeting for it. If you know you’re involved in litigation, that’s easy. But how do you plan for potential litigation, the patent registration fee for the idea that hasn’t been disclosed yet, or that tricky corporate matter that only comes up because of something a board member says or does? There is no right answer to this one. If you ask ten GC’s how the account for this, you’ll get ten answers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: Segoe UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px;">Because I work in technology companies, IP has always been important. I work with the engineering, marketing, and finance leads to come up with an estimate of how many applications we can reasonably expect to file in the year. As a startup, that is generally in some type of fundraising all the time, I always add a small amount for the random corporate question. And my CFO and I typically agree to treat new litigation as extraordinary expense that doesn’t get budgeted until it’s reasonably likely to happen. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: Segoe UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px;">Even with all of that planning, you’re likely to need to make mid-year adjustments. This is why it’s important to know the business side of your business. Knowing the cycles, the priorities, the business risks, and the company strategy will help you to more accurately predict the costs of the legal services it will need. Knowing the personalities in charge of the departments most likely to generate legal work is also critical. Maybe most importantly, being on good terms with your CFO and finance team will help you to navigate those unbudgeted matters in a way that best protects the business. </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-3122854649553860262017-06-19T06:30:00.002-05:002017-06-19T06:30:41.801-05:00The Things We Say<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Five years ago when I
started this blog, I made a short <a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2012/09/things-i-never-thought-id-say.html" target="_blank">post</a> about words uttered in the work place that I never imagined when I graduated
from law school. While I can’t believe I’m
still fooling around on this blog, I can’t resist the opportunity to update
this list (with a little help from some other legal type friends):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What is the
justification for seeking reimbursement for the beef jerky and condoms as a
business expense?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, stupid isn’t a
disability. I’m not even sure how you would reasonably accommodate stupidity if
it were.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Sorry, but dependent
benefits does not cover doggy day care.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Canada is a different
country (from the US). Alaska, however,
is not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Bob, why are you
wearing a football helmet to our staff meeting?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, a patient cannot
redline the notice of privacy practices.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, just because
someone put it on the internet doesn’t mean that you can freely use the code in
proprietary software… Please don’t make me explain ‘proprietary’ again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Putting in a pool isn’t
a valid business expense, even if you invite everyone over for a party.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Should someone go in
there and break that up? Oh hell, do I
need to in there and break it up?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Don’t get stressed,
they’re just like toddlers but not as malicious” – when talking to a young paralegal
nervous about dealing with engineering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, you don’t have to
reasonably accommodate a millennial by allowing her mom to come to work with
her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To the infosec guy in
the office below – “knock three times on the ceiling if you want me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To the board while
explaining how targeted behavioral ads work, “ever wonder why you keep getting
ads on Viagra?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m sorry about her
cat, but you are within your rights to deny the bereavement leave request on
that one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“How long has he been
standing on top of the file cabinet?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Joe, do you know
where I can get a piñata?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, use the plastic
mini-liquor bottles in the piñata, not the glass ones – they’re a hazard.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I don’t want to call
your mother, but I will if I have to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes, marijuana at
work is still a drug issue.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, you can’t not
hire her because you have a ‘deal’ with your wife not to be alone in the room
with another woman. Seriously, you do
that not every woman wants to have sex with you – right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Our department motto
has become, ‘I need a drink’. I don’t
think that’s healthy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Sure, you can put ‘Master
of the Universe’ as your title on your business cards – but you still won’t
have signing authority.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Although sometimes you get
to say something like this – “We aided in saving the lives of 19 girls out of
sex trafficking today.” (Courtesy of Christine Jones). </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-10060638808106609932017-04-03T06:34:00.002-05:002017-04-03T06:34:52.589-05:001 in 68<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It’s that time of year again. April is Autism Awareness month. I’m sad to say that even though we’re at 1 in
68 kids being diagnosed with some form of Autism there is still a lot of
misconceptions about it. So, I do my
small part and share some of how Autism has effected myself through my
professional life. I’ve previously
written uplifting lists of how my autistic son has influenced the way I see the
world. And all of those things are still
very true. Learning how to navigate
the world with LG has <a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2016/04/autism-awareness-month-lessons-continue.html" target="_blank">broadened my perspective</a> on a lot of the day to day
interactions in the workplace. Just like
relearning the golden rule <u><a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2012/08/practicing-law-like-its-kindergarten.html" target="_blank">when your kid goes to kinder</a></u>, there’s
something to be said about taking a step back and re-evaluating how you respond
to your environment. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, there is another impact to my professional life
that doesn’t get mentioned as much. As the parent of a special needs kid, my
career choices tend to be more conservative than they may otherwise be. When interviewing with a potential employer I
have to ask about things like benefits, and what type of coverage for autism
services are included. I have to explore
the flexibility of office hours. I have to reserve a few of my PTO days each
year to deal with ARDs, neuro appointments, and pre-visits to new places he’s
going to be required to attend in the next few months. I have turned down job offers because it
would require me to move to an area that didn’t have enough therapists within a
30-mile radius. And I let another
opportunity go because the insurance benefits didn’t cover ABA therapy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I am extremely lucky.
I work in a field where I am well compensated and typically receive good
benefits. I am senior enough that I can require flexibility as a part of
negotiating a new position. For the most
part a contract doesn’t care if it’s reviewed at 3 pm or 3 am, and execs often
exchange texts or phone calls late at night or early in the morning depending
on their work style - so my work product isn’t materially impacted because of
my need for flexibility. In house
lawyers are generally on call 24/7 anyway, so having my butt in a seat from 9-5
doesn’t impact my earning potential. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately, autism doesn’t just effect the children of highly
paid professionals. And as much as we
protest as employers that we’d never hold it against an employee, if you’re
working in a call center it’s a lot harder to be flexible when your kid has a
2-hour meltdown and refuses to get in the car. (Sure you could force him, but
he’s almost as big as you now and is really hard to physically pick up - even if
that was a healthy way to deal with a meltdown.) It’s harder to demand great insurance
benefits from the minimum wage job you had to take so that you could shuttle
him to the several therapy sessions a week that he needs - for which you now
rely on grants and Medicaid to pay. And
if your employer only allows 5 PTO days a year, you reserve all of them to deal
with the kid and his needs. All the
while, you pray that you never get sick or need a day for anything else. <o:p></o:p></div>
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None of this addresses what the child goes through himself,
which is exponentially harder than the administrative stress that parents go
through. So while we thank you for the
sentiment of “I don’t know how you do it,” please don't start comparing us to real martyrs. Instead,
please take a moment to think of how you could support the autism
community. Maybe it’s just a supporting
look when a kid is having a meltdown in the middle of the school hallway
instead of the judging of parental skills because he’s shouting some choice
words that shouldn’t be in a second grader’s vocabulary. Maybe it’s donating money or time to one of
the many organizations that are working to make life easier for the community –
Autism Society of Austin is one of my favorites. Maybe it’s cutting one of
your employees some slack for coming in late when their kid has a bad day, or
if you’re senior enough fighting for policies that make life just a little
easier. Maybe your company can employ
someone with autism, giving that person a chance to make a living and the rest
of your employees some exposure to and hopefully empathy for a real autistic person,
not some cute kid on a poster. If
nothing else, go learn something about autism and share what you’ve learned
(unless you’re going to say it’s caused by vaccines, then just shut up.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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<u>Light It Up Blue</u>, or <u>Tone It Down Taupe</u> –
either way spread awareness so that instead of forcing these amazing people to
conform to our rigid society, we start thinking of how our society can be more
accommodating and accepting of them. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-81984123612632979402016-11-25T11:07:00.004-06:002016-11-25T11:07:50.359-06:0018 Donuts and Attention to Detail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I'm full of turkey, done with my black Friday shopping and was ready to get back to work. Working for a small start up that is open most days of the year, we take turns playing the 'grown up' on site during slow times like the Friday after Thanksgiving.<br />
<br />
Since I wasn't leaving town or hosting family, and being one of the newest members of the team, I volunteered to be the adult today. I woke up early and got an extra long walk in, getting my 10,000 steps by 6:30 am. Got ready and hit every green light on the way in. I was in such a good mood, I even stopped to buy donuts for the few of us that were on the black Friday shift. As I rolled into the parking lot around 9, I noticed there were only about 6 cars in the entire lot of the multi-tenant building. Thinking it would be a really quiet day, I pulled out my donuts, balanced my tea as I tugged on the building door. Locked. I went around the other side - also locked. I went to the front entrance, and it was also locked. <br />
<br />
I had never thought to ask if the building would be closed for the day. I don't typically work in the building after hours so building access had never been an issue. I have access to our offices within the building and VPN access for working from home when I need to pull a late night or get an early start. The company is limited to the number of building access cards we're allowed to have, so we're particular about who gets them. It's one of the obvious details that often get overlooked, because it's so obvious. We think it a given and don't pay attention. Focusing on the big stuff, the stuff that matters - the indemnification clause, the proper reps and warranties, the timing of the patent application or the marketing material disclosures. We assume that the little things are taken care of by the process, by the administrators, or are the natural state of things. Until we get locked out of the building juggling our tea and 18 donuts. <br />
<br />
Because of my commute I had an understanding with my boss upon being hired that I wouldn't be working after hours at the office. It never occurred to the office manager that I would need one to work on the unofficial 'holidays' when the building is closed but the office is open. So this morning, I stood at the door for a few minutes laughing at myself. And then I took my donuts home to the kids - giving some away to a panhandler on the way, because no one needs 18 donuts at home. <br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-12926011200013616532016-11-09T07:45:00.001-06:002016-11-09T07:45:04.722-06:00Thanksgiving 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0K9KtFPr1_jvS29_e05e4CJzV2aXglbYx9kra2B2DHibAc6Uvg306T1KREdu-nilzHkJnYiE_arxZGGMysIsoOgXQGPxoybbZLBtotWrzmh2Wti5Y-ZazICwEYWcvOAKa_YTlj9EEriTj/s1600/12310531_10203557356414954_8811103649774636080_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0K9KtFPr1_jvS29_e05e4CJzV2aXglbYx9kra2B2DHibAc6Uvg306T1KREdu-nilzHkJnYiE_arxZGGMysIsoOgXQGPxoybbZLBtotWrzmh2Wti5Y-ZazICwEYWcvOAKa_YTlj9EEriTj/s320/12310531_10203557356414954_8811103649774636080_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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It’s that time of year again, time to contemplate the things in our lives for which we are thankful. Every year the family creates a list of things that we’re grateful for – given the youth of some family members, toys and candy usually make the top of the list. Given my fondness for champagne, so does bubbles. But the thing we’re most thankful for are the members of our family – mom, dad, brothers, Nana, Papa, cousins, and the many friends with whom we share a bond stronger than blood.</div>
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This year has been one of ups and down and I’m more grateful than ever for the wonderful people in my life. For old friends and new, I have been more than blessed with the love, mentorship, support, laughter, and encouragement from so many. And for that I am truly thankful. </div>
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As a legal blogger (of sorts), I also have to attest to my absolute dependence on technology and provide proper gratitude for the tools that make my job easier. From my smartphone that keeps me connected 24/7 and allows me some semblance of balance in my life to the software that automates once manual processes that allows my team to shine, technology has had a major positive impact on my practice. </div>
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I am also more than thankful that this election season is over. I hope that my social media feeds become a friendlier place and I can go into the office without worrying about a fist fight breaking out over the latest twitter war or email leak. </div>
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And because it’s my list, I’m thankful for bubbles. <span style="font-size: 11pt;">What are you thankful for?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-50574646420184288462016-11-03T06:20:00.003-05:002016-11-03T06:20:30.370-05:00Head up or head down?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every couple of months you’ll see an article, presentation or infographic trying to define the line between a leader and a manager. Often they’re full of platitudes like leaders listen more than they talk and surround themselves with “A” people. One of my favorite useless platitudes is that leaders have their heads up while managers have their head down – meaning that a true leader will come up with ideas and delegate the execution to people more capable of pulling it off. While those who have ‘only’ reached the manager level, will still keep their heads down focusing on the work right in front of them instead of thinking the big thoughts.</div>
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For many of us in small departments, it really isn’t a choice. There’s just no one there to delegate to, or if there is, they are so far in the weeds that it’s not fair to pile more on them. Of course that doesn’t relieve you of the obligation to think outside of the box and come up with innovative solutions to the problems your company is facing. </div>
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So does that mean that we’re not leaders? Or all hope to developing leadership skills is lost? Of course not. Everyday leaders of all stripes are able to inspire others while getting their own jobs done well. The trick is to know when to put your head down and when to look up. Every day there is real work to be done. And that’s what our company’s pay us to do. Sure, they love the great ideas that increase efficiency or improve the bottom line, but they expect us to do our day jobs too. </div>
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The first thing you lift your head up for is increasing the efficiency in your day job - contract management, process development, alternative fee arrangements, etc. This gives some breathing room so that your ‘heads up’ time doesn’t just occur between the hours of midnight and 5 am. </div>
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Once you’ve established that, you use what you’re learning from your ‘heads down’ time to inspire and innovate. Your day job gives you unique insight into the challenges of multiple areas of the business. For example, knowing what contracts are in the queue gives you a unique view into the direction the company is actually heading regardless of what is being said at the quarterly all hands. Being able to raise your hand to call attention to a department entering into outsourcing agreements because they can’t meet unrealistic project deadlines can highlight the issues with the project. It also gives you the opportunity to identify synergies between departments – IT has just contracted for a ticketing system that has a lot of the features that marketing is looking for in project management, have the teams talked? Dealing with employment claims allows you insight into areas of the company culture that need improvement. </div>
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The list goes on and on. <span style="font-size: 11pt;">There’s a reason why a good general counsel is worth their weight in gold, and you don’t have to suck at your day job to get there.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-1058311913047216632016-10-26T14:04:00.000-05:002016-10-26T14:04:09.986-05:00Team Player or Team Doormat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I’ve recently been back in the market for a new job and one
of the common questions I ask in the interview process is what happened to the
last guy. While there will always be
spin on the part of an employer it sometimes be hard to discern if the reason
he left was because he wasn’t a team player or because he refused to be the
team doormat. This becomes even more
complicated in smaller companies where everyone wears multiple hats and does
grunt work regardless of their status. And
it becomes even harder to self-identify if you are the said poor team player or
doormat. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So I’ve come up with a checklist to help a would be doormat
out:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>If you’re
asked to cover for an employee while they are out, even if it’s not purely
legal in nature, you’re being asked to be a team player. Frequently this will come from HR or other
executive functions where sensitivity to the potential issues reduces the
options and makes you the next best choice.</li>
<li>If you’re asked to permanently handle routine non-legal matters that are heavily administrative or otherwise
burdensome and your legal experience adds little or no value to the process,
you may be a doormat.</li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If you’re told budgets are tight so you’ll have
to make your own copies and type up your own letters – suck it up and be a good
team player.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If you’re told budgets are tight so you can’t
have a raise for the third time in three years yet co-workers are bragging
about 5-6 figure bonuses or going on lavish "retreat" work trips, you might
just be a doormat.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If the workload is increasing but in a haphazard
manner, i.e. some additional contract work, some additional employment matters,
a litigation matter once a year, etc.
You may be asked to step up and take on additional responsibility, which
may translate into a few more hours per week.
This is what good team players do, until…</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If the workload has increased consistently over
a decent period of time so that there is easily enough coherent work for
another head (or two) to be added and you’re being asked to work double time,
it may be time to find a better team to play for.</span></li>
</ol>
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Obviously, this isn’t an exhaustive list – but hey, it’s my
first post back. As always, feel free to
leave your own doormat examples in the comments.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-25000168682657710322016-10-25T06:57:00.001-05:002016-10-25T06:57:24.939-05:00MIA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
You might have noticed that things have been a bit slow on
this blog. And while it’s very un-like
me to ever shut up for long, this page has been silent for far too long. It’s been a crazy 18 months, both
professionally and personally. Mergers, integration,
new jobs, kids starting school, buying a new house, health scares (everyone is
fine), and just day to day life got in the way of sharing my multitude of unsolicited thoughts on all things in-house. But,
things are starting to die down, so I’ll be back to my prolific self in no
time. So for the one or two faithful
readers still hanging on – stay tuned, and feel free to entertain yourselves in
the comment section.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-65987597456627441592016-04-13T09:26:00.003-05:002016-04-13T09:26:50.501-05:00Public or Private?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday I participated in a panel at UT Law School with the intent to give the eager students a peek at a life of practicing in house. One thing that came up a couple times in the discussion and a few more times after the discussion was officially over was the difference between practicing for a public vs a private company - and whether that difference was material. And the determination? Well, as most answers in law go - it depends.<br />
<br />
There's been a definite increase in regulations governing public companies in the past few years. Counsel for a public company needs to be at least familiar with the rules even if they don't specialize in corporate work. And they're not alone; the responsibilities for compliance fall on legal, finance, and executive roles. Many companies are even developing compliance departments with the sole purpose to marshal it all and keep everyone on point. Which gives a little breathing room to the non-corporate in house counsel, but doesn't completely remove the added complexity of working for a public company. <br />
<br />
There's also an increasing perception that practicing in a private company relieves an attorney of all burdens of knowing and following the required regulations for public companies; and consequently, completely unprepared to work for a public company. I've seen it most predominately when a company is searching for a new (or first) GC. Since I've never met a founder or a VC that doesn't dream of the huge IPO, even private companies want someone with public company experience for fear that one can't gain the necessary experience in a private company. <br />
<br />
Of course most founders and VCs dreams of an IPO or big exit, so if you're working for a funded company you have to at least think about putting the controls in place that would ease that process. Additionally, in a funded company the investors will require many of the same type of controls be in place so they feel comfortable giving more money. Moreover, the diligence process for selling a company in lieu of an IPO is often more in depth and a lot more time consuming than the diligence process for conducting an IPO. So an attorney can gain valuable experience even working at a private company.<br />
<br />
That said, not all founders have big exit dreams. Some dream of growing a company to a respectable size and serving their customer base for generations. They want nothing more than to live a good life and leave a legacy to their families. Those closely held companies don't usually take outside funding. And they don't really care about following pointless process that don't add real value in at the moment. They're often not interested in acquiring any other businesses and care more about the day to day transactions than corporate transactions. A lawyer coming out of this environment won't be prepared to work for a public company without a good mentor to show them the way.<br />
<br />
So all this goes to say, whether working in a public vs private company makes a material difference in either the day to day or your chances of getting that promotion often depend on the companies involved, the leadership requirements and whether or not you've got a good mentor. <br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-26284098330606225812016-04-04T09:16:00.002-05:002016-04-04T09:16:34.019-05:00Autism Awareness Month: The Lessons Continue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's April. That means it's once again Autism Awareness month. I've made no secret of how Autism has affected my family and my career (I've written about it <a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-my-autistic-son-has-made-me-better.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2015/04/update-to-how-my-autistic-son-made-me.html" target="_blank">here</a>); and once a year I try to do my part in raising awareness for those around me. A part of that awareness is realizing that instead of attempting to get an autistic individual to conform to society, there are so many things we can learn from their unique perspective. And since everyone seems to love a list, here's my top 3 things my son has taught me in the last year:<br />
<br />
1. <b>We all need a break sometimes.</b> Kids that are diagnosed with autism (whose parents have decent insurance) get a ton of therapy. My son has had between 10 and 30 hours of therapy a week since he was almost three. This is in addition to school - he's in a special ed class which he attends for a little over 7 hours a day. That's a lot of demands to put on a kid. Hell, it's a lot of demands to put on an adult. And at least once a year he starts having a lot of breakdowns and tears flow when he's asked to go to a therapy session or to school where before he was having fun. He needs a break, so we take a week off. He gets a week with no demands but to just be him. It revives and refreshes him and he almost always has a big movement forward in his development shortly after he resumes. <br />
<br />
Transfer that to the land of lawyers and see what kind of jumps in productivity you get if you take a break before you're totally burnt out. Even in house where we're supposed to have this mythological "work-life-balance", we work 50-60 hours in a good week and routinely average 70-80 stressful hours. Unlike many in private practice, a boon isn't often followed by a short break while we have to find the next project or client. We can finish up that big transaction only to fall into the pile of work that was only being triaged and has now turned into a volcano about to explode. There's always a reason to put off that vacation because there's so much to do. Combine that with the fact that many of us with families don't do true vacations - we do 'be-responsible-for-everyone-in-a-location-other-than-home'. Which is often even more stressful. It's okay to need a real break. Take a day and let the kids go to school. Sit and read a trashy book. Binge watch a show on Netflix you've never heard of before. Let yourself actually relax and see how a refreshed brain can boost your productivity.<br />
<br />
2. <b>Celebrate the small stuff.</b> Yesterday LG told me about a dream he had about his favorite video game. It seems silly to celebrate such a mundane conversation, but it was a milestone for us. See, his autism makes it difficult for him to communicate things that aren't literal. He's actually still struggling with communicating even those things. But when he enthusiastically told me about a dream he had where there were the monsters and levels of his game and he was the hero it was like I was seeing a new kid. We also celebrate when he names an emotion instead of having a meltdown. "He makes me sad." is enough for a party in my house. On the surface these seem like small things, but they add up to a very big picture. And thinking of the little wins renews our faith that we'll get those big ones. <br />
<br />
The same is true in the workplace. Regardless of your department, celebrating that little win can make a big difference in the morale and the engagement of your team. We don't win big cases everyday, but getting that customer to finally sign the agreement without gutting all the protections is a win. Getting 90% of the employees to complete that required compliance training on time is a win. Talking the head of whatever department out of that stupid thing is a win. Celebrate them. Realize that the small things matter as much, if not more than, the big things. They add up to make your team a team of winners. Or if you ignore them and only celebrate the big wins, you'll have a team of nobodies with one or two 'producers' who get all the credit.<br />
<br />
3. <b>Nothing beats hard work.</b> Not everyone is born with the natural ability to hit a ball out of the park, perfectly play Mozart or write the perfect blog post. There are those who just holding a conversation is difficult. One of the things I have learned from my son and his classmates is that those kids work so hard at things we take for granted. And to a one, they are achieving things we weren't sure was possible in August. <br />
<br />
The same is true for lawyers. We're not all born superstars. Most of us are of above average intelligence, which served us well to get into and graduate from law school. But when you're in the board room with a couple of serial entrepreneurs, your founder who was smarter at 12 than you are now, and whatever other financial gurus the investors send to represent them, you don't always feel so smart. Numbers may not come naturally to you. Communicating in business speak may not come naturally to you. Thinking of the business as a business and not a series of legal issues may not come naturally to you. But all of these things can be mastered with a little hard work. I've seen very talented lawyers get their butts handed to them my mediocre lawyers who spent time learning the business and digging into the issues. Don't be afraid to work hard and don't be intimidated by those ivy league degrees at fortune 100 legal departments. Odds are they haven't worked as hard as you have to understand your business. So when they try to rely on their size or revenue and you push back with the truths of your industry, you can get more wins than you think. And that's worth celebrating.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-89053098088844506142016-03-21T13:01:00.002-05:002017-10-19T08:26:44.548-05:00Top 5 Must Do's for the New to In House Lawyer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've written about what I wished I learned in law school to make me a better business partner (<a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-i-wished-i-learned-in-law-school.html" target="_blank">What I wish I learned in law school</a>); what outside counsel should do to win/keep my business (<a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2013/06/10-commandments.html" target="_blank">10 Commandments</a>); and what the first in house lawyer should do to set up a successful department (<a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2015/02/top-5-must-dos-for-first-in-house.html" target="_blank">Top 5 Must Do's For the First In House Counsel</a>). Lately I've been asked a lot about what the transitioning lawyer should think about. How do you make the move from firm to in house? And once there, what do you need to do to be successful? So here's my Top 5 for the New to In House Lawyer.<br />
<br />
1. Drop the ego at the door. One of the first pieces of advice given to attorneys making the jump from firm to corporate america is to remember that you are going from a profit maker to a cost center. It seems common sense, but you wouldn't believe how many people fail to realize what this looks like in reality. No, you most likely won't have your own admin/secretary. If you're lucky you can share one with the department, but no she won't make your lunch plans or type up that letter for you. She has her own job and it has very little to do with you. And when it comes time for bonus, stock options, etc., unless you're the GC, don't expect that you'll be valued very high in the hierarchy of the company. Sales people and the developers making the company's best selling products come before you. Don't get jealous - if they do their jobs well it means more money for everyone. Your job now is to support them. Help the company figure out how to make money. In the end everyone wins, but your contribution won't be publicly recognized very often.<br />
<br />
2. Get to know your company and industry. As a firm lawyer, you have many clients. You may specialize in a particular area of law and/or industry. But you will quickly learn that you know very little about how the company actually runs. You need to know not just the easily researched facts, but the specifics and nuances that come to play in your particular industry. Some industries have a frenemy approach to competition. Friendly when needed, but always watching the other guy. Others can be outright hostile, the competition is evil. Know which one you're in. Get to know how your company operates within the ecosystem. You should know how the product works; what the customer sees when interacting with your company; and most of all where the money comes from. Without this, you'll never understand the big picture strategy.<br />
<br />
3. Be prepared to show your worth. Hourly billing may be over but tracking isn't. More and more legal teams are being asked to justify the cost. Executive teams and boards love metrics - dollars saved in outside spending, number of contracts reviewed monthly, average turn around times, reduction in claims filed, etc. It's a simple enough concept, and makes total sense. When you can show the people with the purse strings how hard your team is working they're more likely to give up a little extra at bonus time or allow a new hire even when things are tight. However, it also means that all members of the team need to track things. Sometimes, technology makes this easy. Contract management software will help with some of those stats. But other things just have to be tracked and communicated the old fashioned way. It sucks to track time spent on a project, but without it there isn't an easy way to justify that new technology or new hire that would ease the load.<br />
<br />
4. Join ACC or a similar in house community. Congratulations. You no longer have to generate business like the old days. And because of that, it becomes very easy to keep your head down, get the job done and then go home to the family. It's easy to get isolated from the legal community. But you do so at your own risk. First, you no longer have a firm full of specialist at your fingers that you can ask a quick question to see if you're on the right track. It's harder to find a mentor who will advise you when the VP of Marketing starts being unreasonable. And when a few years down the line you need to find a new job, you have no idea where to start. An in house community will provide an easy way to network with other people just like you, usually at reasonable times that don't impact too much on that precious work-life balance that you left the firm for. Most, like ACC, will also offer online resources that give you a quick reference for that odd problem that everyone faces once, but only once. And when it's time to start looking for a new job, you'll be amazed at how supportive they'll be sending you opportunities and making introductions to hiring GCs/CFOs/CEOs for positions that will never be posted.<br />
<br />
5. Learn to embrace risk. Every company has its own risk profile. When you're outside looking in you tend to provide a full laundry list of potential risk to the client and let them figure out what matters. After all, you're the lawyer not the business decision maker. And then you move in house and you find that the business decision maker wants a yes or no and very rarely has time for a long explanation of the answer. So you'll have to learn the risk appetite of your company and it's particular managers. You'll have to learn how to read the decision maker to know if they're looking for a yes or a no to the question posed. You'll have to learn how to be okay with the fact that not everything will be passed through legal before it goes to market. And you'll have to do all this while still keeping as bright a line as you can between you the lawyer and business decisions being made. It's something we all struggle with, even after years of being in house. So good luck. And welcome to the in house community.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-88093702738480457822015-11-09T11:13:00.002-06:002015-11-09T11:35:47.109-06:00Regional Work Ethic?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It often seems like themes emerge in my professional conversations. I'll spend two months getting asked the same question by a dozen different people. And then I write about it here and the next theme seems to emerge. And staying true to that tradition, I've had the same conversation with several people at a variety of events over the last 3-4 months. It seems that for better or worse there is a perception of regional work ethic. <br />
<br />
After an article in came out about Amazon's lack of work life balance for its developers it became a hot topic around the tech world. Should developers complain about a lack of work life balance when they make more money than doctors or lawyers - often with better perks? Or are we pushing these human beings beyond their limits all in the name of productivity and greed? I don't claim to have an answer to those questions, but am interested in a spin off from that initial conversation - are there regional differences in work ethic? Does a developer in silicon valley work harder for their dollar than one in Austin or Atlanta? Do the lawyers? <br />
My first reaction was a knee jerk - no, absolutely not. We work just as hard in Austin as those California guys do. <br />
<br />
But when I truly reflect on my experience since moving here nine years ago, I have to question whether that's true or not. I 'grew up' as a lawyer working for a tech company right after the dot com bust. We worked hard and long hours. I remember having a conversation with my GC at the time as to why my hours in the office had dropped (to 60-65 hours per week). I was studying for the Texas bar and had moved farther, so spent more time in traffic. Which was no excuse, so I got a work issued laptop and started working from home in the evenings. A new lawyer wasn't added until we had at least a regular 70+ hours of important work per week that wasn't getting done. Less than that and we should figure out how to make it work. And since we were a tech company, we were not even close to being the hardest working employees. Our dev crew was always there when I walked in the door and most were there when I left for the evening. <br />
<br />
Now contrast that with my experience at tech companies in Austin. During the summer I get to work around 7:30-8am. The office is empty. I leave around 5:30, the office is empty. I work evenings from home to finish up anything that didn't get done during the work day, and often have to wait until the next day for a response. As I was trained, I keep an SLA of 24 hours for responses to my internal clients, with a goal of less than 2 weeks for turn around of the actual work product. I find most legal teams here find that SLA too ambitious. Even the "big law" lawyers here seem to have a semblance of 'work-life balance'. And often, the lawyers are working harder than the devs. So I'm beginning to see how a California entrepreneur may see a regional work ethic effect. <br />
<br />
At first I chalked it up to generational differences, we all hear about the millennials demanding more balance from their employers. But the big law guys aren't millennials. And most of the devs I work with aren't either. And then there is my interaction with other regions. I've had the opportunity to work with devs and lawyers in Atlanta, Maryland, and Chicago in the last 18 months. Chicago seems to be always on. Maryland and Atlanta not so much. They make my dev team look like workaholics. So maybe there is something to this regional thing? What do you say to an entrepreneur who says s/he can't get the same work ethic outside of the valley?<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-6935494603030607772015-08-10T10:27:00.003-05:002015-08-10T10:27:38.050-05:00Suits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of my guilty pleasures is unwinding with the hubs watching bad tv. One of the shows I love is Suits. For those who haven't seen it, the show is set in a law firm where one of the new promising associates is a complete fraud having never actually gone to law school. The hook is that he is actually a really good lawyer - with the help of a few very qualified mentors in the firm. (None of this could ever happen in real life for a number of reasons - but it makes for great late night tv with the hubs.)<br />
<br />
So why am I writing about Suits? Well, last weeks' episode hit a nerve. A client asked the associate to speed through an acquisition in two weeks. My reaction was, that's crazy even for tv! Which was similar to the reaction of one of the kid's mentors, who said that you couldn't due adequate diligence in two weeks. <br />
<br />
What struck a nerve was the request. How many times has someone walked into your office and asked for something to be done yesterday. Usually under the cover of there's a huge amount of money to be made or saved - but only if we complete the project yesterday. There's a lot of pressure on the in house lawyer in that situation. As a lawyer, you have to meet your professional responsibilities and provide adequate legal representation to your client. But as an employee, you also have a fiscal responsibility to the company to not tank a deal by being overzealous. So how do you walk the line?<br />
<br />
A lot of knowing when to hold the line and when to be flexible comes with experience. Over time you learn which of your sales people is always pushing that "million dollar deal" two days before end of quarter, and when your product team wants to launch the new release without proper QA testing to hit that particular calendar date (usually tied to their bonus or some market trend). You also learn to read the tea leaves to know when something really is a bet the business deal and when an extra week or month may slow the deal but won't materially effect the value.<br />
<br />
And sometimes you just don't know whether the crisis is real or not. In those cases you have to weigh the risk of missing something material in the rush or losing the value to the company of whatever the requests are being made. As in Suits, sometimes the risk isn't worth it. The upside may be great, but missing something material in diligence can be worse. And sometimes, you can give a little on the audit provision and get that sales contract finalized in time for end of quarter without any real adverse affects on the company. If you're really not sure, ask your GC. If you are the GC and still unsure, talk your concerns out with your exec team. Your CFO will be in a great position to advise on whether the value is as real as it's being portrayed. Your COO will be able to help you assess whether your compliance concerns are material or not. At the end of the day you have to remember that you are a lawyer first and employee second. And sometimes the best advice isn't "No", it's just "Slow Down."</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-77073416385618095902015-07-21T13:20:00.003-05:002015-07-21T13:20:57.644-05:00I'm Bored!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As a mom, one thing gets on my nerves more than anything each summer - the inevitable "I'm bored" statement coming from a kid who has every toy imaginable and a huge yard to play in. But what I dread even more is the "I'm bored" attitude from an employee. <br />
<br />
At best it means I have a disengaged, dispassionate employee with horrendous productivity. At worst, it means I'm wasting a talented resource who will soon leave me and be difficult to replace. This is not unique to lawyers, but I've found that it happens more often in the legal team due to the potential isolation of the department because of the nature of our work and the structure of the company. Unless you're engaged in senior management, in house lawyers don't do a lot of strategy work. Which means that they're not working on the exciting stuff until after it's floated around the company for awhile. Junior attorneys and remote/distance attorneys also get left out of collaborative projects that leave them handling routine matters over and over again. You can only negotiate that indemnity language so many ways before it becomes something you can do in your sleep. <br />
<br />
And that's when they start to sleep on the job (figuratively, I hope). Most employees will give you signs that they're bored. Good ones will ask for more work, not so good ones will ask for more time off. Both can poison the productivity of the team - if for no other reason than misery loves company. Even a bored superstar can't help but put off a vibe of frustration that's highly contagious. And the superstar can fairly easily find another job. They may wait it out a bit in hopes of things getting better, maybe out of a sense of loyalty to you or the company. But eventually they'll leave and all those routine matters land back in your lap. A less motivated employee may take advantage of the situation and just turn in crap work for awhile until you have to replace them. And again you've got those routine matters back in your lap, and we know you're not bored.<br />
<br />
So what's a manager to do? Keep an eye out for the signs of boredom - hurried work, procrastination from otherwise productive team members, complaining about everything, etc. Give opportunities to vary work load within competencies. So you have one employment lawyer, let her work on some consultant contracts. Or let your patent guy work on a licensing deal. Get your employees engaged early on in the life-cycle of the "cool stuff". Don't outsource all the deal work for that acquisition. Let the attorney that will draft the terms of use for that new product in on some of the development meetings. Give them something to shake up the routine. And take the pulse of the department periodically. Fully engaged employees will put up with more grunt work because they see the big picture and their place in it. Disengaged employees see only their day to day and it affects their attitude, which in turn affects the attitude of those around them. Know who your complainers are and keep them in check. <br />
<br />
Sometimes there's nothing you can do for the bored employees. We have a job to do and sometimes that has to be enough. If it's not, help them move on with dignity and try to replace them with someone whose idea of gratifying work fits within the definition of the work they'll actually be doing. If that doesn't work, do what I do to my kids - tell them to come up with their own solution and that you'll help them implement it if possible...or go outside and play. (depending on how many times I've heard the whine that day.)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-2952231349033168912015-07-09T16:24:00.004-05:002015-07-09T16:24:38.098-05:00Answer the Call<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I seem to be spending a lot of time networking these days. Partly because it's a bit slow at work so I have time to devote to it, partly because I recently joined the board of the Austin Chapter of Association of Corporate Counsel, and partly because I've finally realized that you need to answer the call when someone reaches out to you. As in house counsel, we can get tunnel vision with the day to day of the job. There is always one more contract to review, one more email to answer and not enough time to get it all done and still have some semblance of a family life. So we tend to ignore the relatively easy side of professional development - answering the call when someone reaches out to connect with you.<br />
<br />
I've had several recruiters reach out to me in the last 3 months. Not only to attempt to recruit me to a new position, but also to see if they can be of service for my team or if I know anyone that is a fit for the role they're trying to fill. Even on days when I'm overworked, over-stressed and REALLY don't feel like fielding a sales call, I answer the call. At worst, I have a lovely conversation with someone who may have my next job even if it's not the one they're pitching now (and maybe make a new friend). At best, I can connect and help them find the right person. Which means that both the recruiter and the attorney/professional that I've connected them with will think of me the next time a position opens up. <br />
<br />
Same thing applies when a local attorney looking for advice on the in house scene reaches out. I may not be in the position to hire them now, or even give them sage advice on how to reach the next step. But sometimes all they need is an ear to bounce ideas off or some insight into an area or a company that they hadn't considered before. I remember being that newbie and needing advice. I also remember very clearly the people who were too busy and those who took time to have coffee, lunch, happy hour or a 15 minute phone call. Sometimes I'm asked about who would be a good fit for a great position - guess who I recommend.<br />
<br />
And believe it or not, this applies to non-legal people too. When the membership chair for that non-profit calls, the controller for that software company you met while at that tech focused happy hour, the salesperson for the contract management software you used to use but have replaced or even the cousin of that work colleague that wants to get into working with Autistic kids reaches out - answer. Yes, you'll have to learn the artful skill of saying no to the sales pitches. But, you may need that software in the future or may have a common interest with the non-profit. You never know how they may add value to your life (professionally or otherwise) and it really doesn't take much to add a small bit of value to theirs. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-77799003014358993232015-04-02T09:46:00.000-05:002015-04-02T09:46:25.879-05:00Update to How My Autistic Son Made Me a Better Lawyer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
April 2 is International Autism Awareness day. I've made no secret of how Autism has effected me personally and professionally. But like everything else in life, living with an Autistic son evolves over time. And while the lessons I first wrote about <a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-my-autistic-son-has-made-me-better.html" target="_blank">here</a> are still applicable, I'm continuing to learn from him on a daily basis. So in honor of Autism Awareness day and of LG, here are the new ways my autistic son is making me a better lawyer.<br />
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1. Acceptance trumps Awareness. The autism community in general struggles with this one. With the 2014 stats of 1 in 68 kids being diagnosed (1 in 50 boys), there are a lot of organizations focused on raising the awareness of this disorder. However, being aware of something and accepting it are two different things. Understanding how or why something 'is' is just the first step. Determining what to do next is where the real value is added. For the autistic community, it is a movement away from viewing autism as a childhood disease to the fact that many adults with autism continue to need accommodation well into adulthood, but can otherwise be contributing members of society. For an in house lawyer, it means being aware of budget, market or other considerations isn't enough. We have to accept that reality and be creative in ways of achieving the goals of the business within those confines.<br />
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2. Reaction or lack thereof does not equal lack of understanding. As my son grows, his communication skills are also evolving. His receptive communication is much more developed than his expressive communication - which means he understands a lot more than he's able to communicate back. So there are times when I tell him something and he doesn't respond or react. It's tough to know whether he actually heard and understood me and just isn't equipped to respond or whether he doesn't actually understand. As he develops further, it's become clearer that he understands a lot more than most give him credit for, but he often doesn't react as expected. And I've come to learn that this is not a uniquely autistic trait. There are some business people who don't always react as expected to news of advice. As in house counsel, we need to manage the interaction and not just the conversation. Look for the non-verbal clues of understanding and acceptance or rejection.<br />
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3. The details matter even when you think they don't. A lot of autistics focus on details of things that are very important to you. My son corrected the presenter at a dinosaur show when he used the old name for a particular dinosaur. He could tell by the toe claw which dinosaur it was. I, of course, couldn't tell the difference and didn't even notice the claws were different. But in certain situations the details don't seem like they're a big deal but can really blow up. By way of example, a friend drafted an executive summary on a major project she had worked for weeks on. Her boss glossed the summary before submitting it to the exec team and one change he made was to rearrange the 'author names' to list his before hers. In his mind, it was a report from the legal department and he was their contact. He wanted them to address further questions and issues to him rather than her so she could move on to the next project. However, she felt slighted and like her work wasn't respected. She started looking for another job that day. Sometimes it seems like those details aren't very important but they are. It pays to pay attention.<br />
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Three new things I may have missed without my 1 in 68. What have you learned if you from yours?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-88497803769646112482015-03-16T09:55:00.002-05:002015-03-16T09:55:47.307-05:00Knowing what you don't know<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm often asked what the biggest difference between in house and outside counsel is from the practicing attorney's point of view. In honesty, I don't have a great answer since my only experience at a firm was doing summer internships during my 1L summer. What I do know is how it looks to me now - having more than a decade of in house practice under my belt, sometimes as a client to my outside counsel colleagues. <br />
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The biggest difference isn't the billable hour, the work/life balance or even the amount of time spent on client development. The biggest difference is in the way we think. Law firm lawyers think like lawyers, exclusively. They issue spot and will list every conceivable outcome. They will agonize over the risks of a sloppily written indemnification clause and will argue for days over the psychology of selecting a venue. And they are very, very good at knowing what they don't know and seeking help when they reach that point.<br />
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On the other hand, in house lawyers think like an amalgam of lawyer and business person. We don't have time to analyze every little issue, just the big ones. We don't have the luxury of caring about the .01% chance that venue will come into play, because if we get there it's already done irreparable harm to our business. We make decisions based on half the information all the time, and often go with our gut when it would take too long to shepardize the latest case law on how arbitration clauses are being interpreted by the courts in various jurisdictions. This is what I call practicing law at the speed of business. If we don't get a 'good enough' answer now, they won't wait around to ask us for our perfect answer next time. So we speed through and take calculated risks (after fully disclosing and getting buy in on the risk profile with the company leaders). And we often suck at knowing what we don't know. <br />
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This is especially true for those of us who practice in small or solo legal teams that have to support every aspect of the business, often on a shoestring budget. And it makes our relationships with law firms so much more valuable. By being our sounding board on new issues when they arise, a law firm lawyer can position themselves as our partner in this journey and not just the legal expert in a particular area. By tactifully pointing out general areas that need to be considered - and not the laundry list of every single potential issue no matter how minimal - a firm lawyer can gain a reputation as being reasonable and practical. Which is great if you want me to send you business on those issues I need outside help on, and even better if you ever want me to recommend you for that in house opening that someone told me about.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-70962305166552909722015-02-03T16:57:00.002-06:002015-02-03T16:57:52.960-06:00Top 5 Must Do's For The First In House Counsel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've done the first in house - first GC thing a couple of times now, and each time I do I learn something different. But a few lessons have remained constant through every industry, role and political environment. I originally picked up these tidbits of gold from mentors and colleagues who had been where I was and had turned their solo departments into respected legal teams of some very respected companies. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn from them (and smart enough to actually listen!). <br />
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A couple of weeks ago I was having a similar conversation, only I was on the other end of it - giving the advice. And while I thought about all of the crazy things I've discovered being in house at start ups and tech companies, the listens learned from that first gig and those first mentors seemed more important. So I'll share the top 5 things for the first in house/GC to do:<br />
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1. If possible, only do it once. We all know that a lot of the practice of law is repetition. We negotiate the same clauses in the same agreements with different parties. Which is great when you're a firm lawyer because billables. But in house repetition can kill you. You don't have time to recreate the wheel every time some one needs a contract. Create templates and processes that reduce the amount of time you have to spend on something - eliminate all unnecessary repetition. You'll be so happy you did as you discover the 1000 other things you should be doing with your time that add a lot more value (and visibility) to your role.<br />
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2. If it doesn't take a lawyer, don't do it. It's hard, especially in a start up - but there are some things that you are simply over paid to do. This seems to be more of an issue for women lawyers, but it often falls to the first in house person because they are new and their roles are often undefined. But secretary of the board doesn't mean you get coffee for everyone. Nor does being the most efficient mean that you have to coordinate all meetings. You don't need to sit in on every meeting - just ones where you actually add value or get value. And just because your HR person or team lead doesn't want to have a difficult conversation with the employee about their hygiene doesn't mean that you have to do it for them. <br />
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3. Know the business better than anyone else. In order to understand the risks you have to mitigate or advise on this strategy or that, you have to understand the business. Get to know how your product and services work on an intimate level. Understand where the money comes from. You don't have to be able to code, but you should be able to explain how it works generally. One of the most irritating things to a business person (and one thing that will get you uninvited to many a meeting) is not understanding the role of the company in the ecosystem. Know your competitors, know your product, know your company. Get in deep even when there are no legal issues at play. Once you understand that, you'll be a million times more productive in all the rest of your job.<br />
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4. Technology is your friend. Ten years ago the best technology we had to help our in house practice was word processing and maybe, if you were really ahead of the game, Sharepoint. Now, there are a ton of technical tools that can streamline processes and add automated controls so that you don't have to personally be involved in every thing that the legal department does. You may spend a little upfront, but what you spend in development costs is saved in personnel and overhead. Just like the tools for every other department, some of these can be homegrown adaptations of existing platforms or completely custom tools built in house. Others can be bought off the shelf or modified by a vendor. There is literally something out there for every need (you may not be able to afford it, but it's there!) And it's not hard to show the ROI on a contracts management system when you can show a reduction in transaction times that leads to revenue faster, or a docketing system that allows you to renew important IP in a timely and cost efficient manner without hiring a specialist just to perform that duty. <br />
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5. Act like you belong there. New to in house and the first in house counsel will face a similar issue of not quite knowing where you fit in. Your title may put you at an exec level or a mid level manager. Your role puts you in at least a somewhat strategic position like it or not. So act like you belong at the table on day one. Don't be cocky - just try to learn at first. But you should make your rounds with every executive in the company. Introduce yourself and ask how you can make their jobs easier. Ask what time you should be there for that meeting, not whether you should come. And, it doesn't hurt to make the VP of Sales come to your office for the meeting once in awhile. Remember, you teach people how to treat you. Act like their peer and they'll treat you like that. Act subservient and you'll always be treated that way. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-35623761335272975672015-01-14T12:25:00.002-06:002015-01-14T13:14:44.397-06:00Going 80 in the slow lane<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It was one of those mornings. It feels like it's been a week of one of those mornings. Stayed up too late, so getting up early was difficult. For the kids as well; they were in no mood to brave the cold for school. So we're all running just a bit late. I jump on the toll road because it's faster. As I merge on the highway I notice that the cars are flying by me like I'm sitting still, one truck must have been doing at least 100 mph. I think I must be idling, but when I look down at the speedometer I'm doing 80! <br />
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Ever feel like you're running a top speed and still not getting anywhere? Like no matter how hard you try or how fast you go, you're getting passed up left and right and there's no hope of catching up? That's sort of what it feels like your first year in house (or in a new in house position). I call it the speed of business. <br />
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Everyone else in the office moves at top speed at all times. And they don't wait for you to catch up. If you're not clear on the new technology they plan on releasing in the next sprint, too bad. The dev works been done, the marketing team has already placed the buy orders for the ad space and the finance team has already baked the expected revenue into the quarterly projections that will be disclosed to the board in next weeks meeting. <br />
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They can do that because business works best in the grey - when we're not 100% sure the tech is actually going to work as described, or the marketing will be innovative enough to grab attention but not offend. Business drives at 100 mph 24 hours a day all around the globe. But for legal peeps, we don't speed very well. We like to know all the facts, analyze and then make a judgment call. Then we go through plan our action prior to taking it. And this ensures that we don't ever get a ticket for going 100 mph in a 65 zone. But it also ensures your company that a competitor will get there faster. So then you find all your coworkers going around you because you're too slow. <br />
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The trick is to hit the ground running, start the day at 65 and expect to speed up. But lay the groundwork so your top speeders have to slow down. Put into to place the process and procedures that weed out the known speed traps, and explain that's what your doing. Find the back roads, alternative routes or even toll lanes where the speed limit jumps so you can get a jump on the competition who get caught in the speed traps or refuse to speed. And give enough wiggle room so that everyone can go 5 to 10 miles over the posted limit when necessary. You may find yourself doing 80 in the slow lane for awhile, but eventually traffic flows catch up and that guy doing 100 has to slam his breaks or wreck his truck while you pass him by going with the flow because you've taken stock and know where the next window of opportunity is likely to pop up. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-29212824415217498482014-12-30T08:31:00.001-06:002014-12-30T08:31:04.431-06:002014 - A Year of Self Discovery.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
About a year and half ago, I went through a bit of an identity crisis. I had what should have been the perfect job, but was unhappy professionally. For the first time in six years I wasn't pregnant or nursing but somehow still felt like my body wasn't my own. After a lifetime of struggling with my weight I finally figured it out and lost a ton - going from a size 18 to a size 4. Yet I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin. I had no idea who or what I was anymore. So I left my job and spent the summer with the boys. I tried several different styles, read a bunch of self help books and generally tried to analyze myself into happiness. It didn't work. The only think I learned during that time was that I am not a great 'stay at home' mom - I need work to be self fulfilled. <br />
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So I went back to work, disappointed in myself and still not knowing exactly what my place in life should be. Now, a little over a year later, I'm looking back at 2014 and realize that this is the year that I found myself. I finally found my work style and now know why I was so miserable before and what I need to do professionally to be happy. I've discovered that although I miss the closeness I had with my infant sons, they are so much more fun now that their personalities are emerging. And I've found my own style and feel comfortable in my new skin - stretch marks, wrinkles and all. <br />
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The funny thing is, I didn't find any of this in books or mommy groups. I found no answers while staring in the mirror and trying to analyze every aspect of my misery. I found the answers by jumping into life head on. When things didn't feel right I changed them. I didn't analyze what the next step should be, I just took it. If it wasn't right, I took another. Then another. And somehow, I ended up here. At the end of 2014 and very excited about what 2015 will bring. <br />
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-13326862509054552112014-12-15T10:28:00.003-06:002014-12-16T08:45:59.612-06:00Dear Santa - my annual letter on behalf of in house counsel everywhere<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since my <a href="http://inhouseouttakes.blogspot.com/2013/12/dear-santa-wish-list-from-in-house.html" target="_blank">letter</a> last year went over so well - even got a few things on my list! - I thought I'd try my luck again this year. So here goes:<br />
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<br />
<br />
Dear Santa,<br />
<br />
Thanks again for all the goodies you brought last year. I love the the contract management system (SringCM rocks!, Thanks to Dinesh for making my crazy Visio workflows a reality.) I also appreciate the sales people who are trying their best to get deals in early so I'm not rushing around like a crazy person on New Year's Eve attempting to get that contract signed. I'm still waiting on the new world order where my lack of testosterone doesn't automatically mean I also lack the same pay. Until then, I love this <a href="http://magazine.good.is/articles/mba-feminist-parody?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Source&utm_campaign=goodfb" target="_blank">video</a> and will proudly wear my own label. <br />
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For this year, I'd love to have law firm lawyers (and maybe a few family members) actually understand what it is I do all day. At my reunion I was inundated with questions about how this or that works. I was amazed to see how many very smart people that I went to school with think that I don't actually do any real work, and I only work 30 hours a week. Not sure where they get their ideas about in house counsel responsibilities - but could you bring them a clue for Christmas?<br />
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I also want a few months (because I know a year is too much to ask), where laws that won't ever pass aren't in the daily news. So I don't have to spend an hour each day explaining it and why it doesn't matter to us to <i>every</i> employee who watches CNN or Fox News.<br />
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While we're talking about getting a break, how about a break from the sales people trying to sell me legal services/tech at the end of the year. I get it, it's their end of quarter and they need to make their numbers. But guess what, it's my end of quarter/year, and my sales guys need me to focus on their stuff right now. Plus, I'm out of budget for the year anyway. If they must, tell them to hit me up in January when everything else is a bit slow. But I'll give a hint - I haven't yet bought anything from a cold call. <br />
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And just 'cause it's Christmas - is there anything you can do about the making Christmas Calories really not count? <br />
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Thank you again for last year's gifts. I promise to be Good for 2015 (as long as I get to define Good!).<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
Your in house lawyers.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8639382305706213074.post-35530924052887931062014-11-18T17:40:00.002-06:002014-11-18T17:40:26.473-06:00The Obligatory Thanksgiving Post - where I really do give Thanks!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As the holidays approach I can't help but start mentally conducting a year in review. It seems this year marked the rise of a new type of feminism. Although in full disclosure, it may have always been there, and I only noticed it this year. Maybe I've finally come to a point in my career/life where I'm not so inwardly focused that I can actually see what's happening around me on a macro level. From the push for more <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/23/just-another-white-dude-writing-about-diversity/" target="_blank">Women in Tech</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6XTx2Rg04g" target="_blank">Emma Watson's He for She speech</a>, even <a href="http://fortune.com/2014/10/09/microsoft-ceo-backpedals-after-saying-women-shouldnt-ask-for-raises/" target="_blank">Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella saying that women shouldn't ask for raises</a> has pushed the issue to the forefront - at least for me. And as I see more women trying to make a difference, I'm struck by how lucky I am to have had so many strong women support me. So, this year's Thanksgiving post is dedicated to thanking them.<br />
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It may have been my uncle who pushed me to dream big and who taught me to learn from every experience, but it was my aunt Diana Kaye that instilled a strong work ethic and a belief that I don't need to wait for someone to do it for me. It's because of her that I know the value of hard work, even when no one else is watching. So for that, Thank You Kaye-Kaye. <br />
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I've also been blessed by an awesome group of women, without whom I would have never made it through Professor Rose's contracts class, much less the rest of law school. When the socially isolating aspects of law school started to get me down, one of my girls was always there to pick me up and get my head out of the rank related neurosis. And for that I owe a big thanks to Stephanie Vinca-Sandell and Kari Jill Granville-Minton!<br />
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During my last year in law school, I interned at a then little known company named GoDaddy. I worked for the toughest New Yorker with the biggest heart you'd ever met. She's also one of the smartest people I've met. She taught me more about how to work a room to get what you want while keeping your integrity and sincerity than I knew what to do with at the time. She also taught me the difference between a mentor and a sponsor. A mentor is a great person to have on your side, she will guide you, advise you and be a sounding board when you most need it. A sponsor will go to bat for you. Will risk their own reputation to give you chances you wouldn't otherwise have had. Thanks to Ms. Nima Kelly for showing me just how important both mentors and sponsors are.<br />
<br />
Because of Nima, I got the amazing opportunity to work for a women who epitomizes the word Mentor. Christine Jones took every opportunity to challenge me and help me grow, both professionally and as an individual. She taught me how to 'think like a lawyer' back when I didn't understand what that phrase meant. I still go to her for advice on everything from making my next career move to what makes the most sense in support of my family. And she always makes time for me. Even though she's since moved on to bigger and better things, she answers the phone when I call and returns my emails the same day. I wouldn't be who I am today without CJ. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.<br />
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And I wouldn't have met a lady who touched my life so profoundly, I may not have become a mom without her influence. When Keena Willis came to work for CJ, she was a friendly co-worker. But over the years we worked together she became family. She was sister to me in a way that I had never connected to my own sisters. Her strength as a single mom was an inspiration to me. Her connection with her family and those of us who became family was awesome in the true definition of that word. Although we've grown apart due to distance and other obligations, I know without a doubt that I could pick up the phone and she would be there for me instantly - because that's what family does. She doesn't know that the nights after I first found out I was pregnant I thought of her and knowing what family could look like comforted me - even though I was hundreds of miles away from my own. Thank you Keena - you rock!<br />
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Speaking of family, my own sister Bonnie Bailey continues to inspire me with her drive to improve herself everyday. After being knocked down time and again, she continues to get back up. Each and every time stronger than before. She reminds me that it's never to late to start again and no dream is too big. She'll be graduating from college the same year her son graduates from high school. And she's doing it as a scholar! How she manages it all is still a mystery, and she still has time to listen to me vent about everything from diapers to egos.<br />
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Since moving to Austin, I've had so many friends, co-workers and mentors that I could go on for hours about each. But it's getting late and I need a glass of wine - so I want to thank Sarah Tuchler, Tina Letcher, Connie Ruthven, Nancy Ebe, Amy Fitzgerald, Crystal Hill, Ann Benolken, Angela Vogeli and Leslie Thorne for showing me how powerful having a network of strong professional women can be, and how nice it is to have friends in a new home town!<br />
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I'm off to my wine - but don't be shy, who are you Thankful for this year?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365553108376916226noreply@blogger.com0