In-house Counsel

Law Firms Advised to Try Discounted and Alternative Fees

Law firms that survive the troubled economic times will be willing to discount fees and try alternative billing arrangements such as success fees. That was the message of a panel discussion held last week by the defense bar group DRI, the National Law Journal reports. The story recounts comments by…

Oct 28, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

After Freezing Fees, Wal-Mart GC Considers Cutting Associate Billing Rates

Wal-Mart general counsel Tom Mars says he is considering initiatives to lower associate billing rates at the company’s outside law firms “to some point where they reflect value.” In an interview with the Daily Journal (sub. req.), Mars said he is not the only general counsel concerned that billing rates…

Oct 24, 2008 11:44 AM CDT

Corporations Spend More on In-House Lawyers, Less on Outside Firms

Corporations appear to be cutting back on fees to outside law firms as they beef up their own in-house legal staffs. A new survey highlights the shift. Spending on outside law firms by corporate legal departments dropped by a median of 9.1 percent last year, while outlays for in-house legal…

Oct 21, 2008 11:32 AM CDT

Will Corporate Counsel Push Law Firms to Drop Hourly Billing?

Corporate legal departments dissatisfied with soaring legal costs are pushing for flat-fee and other alternative billing. Last month the Association of Corporate Counsel launched its “Value Challenge,” an initiative to spur alternative billing by companies’ outside law firms, the Washington Post reports. The suggested options include fixed fees, volume discounts…

Oct 20, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Howrey Chairman: ‘We Have to Economize for Our Clients’

Washington, D.C., law firms aren’t immune from the economic downturn, and they’re taking steps to keep and bring in more business. Howrey is one of them, the Washington Post reports. Chairman and managing partner Robert Ruyak said the firm took steps to keeps its fees low in response to requests…

Oct 20, 2008 1:39 PM CDT

More In-House Counsel Predict Jump in Litigation, Spurring Lawyer Hiring

About a third of in-house counsel responding to a survey are projecting an increase in legal disputes involving their companies for the coming year—and nearly 20 percent predict the need to hire more in-house lawyers to manage the expected increase. The survey (PDF) of about 360 in-house counsel by the…

Oct 14, 2008 1:52 PM CDT

Lawrence Paul Higgins, Lawyer and Horseman, Found Murdered in Florida

A former Washington, D.C., lawyer known for his love of racehorses was found murdered at his upscale Florida home on Friday. Lawrence Paul Higgins, 61, was found that morning by a business associate who had a key to his Odessa home, in suburban Tampa, and authorities later determined that he…

Oct 13, 2008 6:07 PM CDT

Prosecutors Seek 230-Year Sentence for Ex-Gen Re Lawyer

Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of up to 230 years in prison for a former senior lawyer at Gen Re convicted for helping structure a sham insurance deal with American International Group. The lawyer, Robert Graham, was convicted of securities fraud in February along with four other Gen Re executives,…

Oct 10, 2008 10:49 AM CDT

Ex-General Counsel of UBS Settles Insider Trading Probe by NY AG

The former general counsel of investment bank UBS AG has agreed to pay $6.5 million to resolve an insider trading investigation by the New York attorney general. The settlement calls for lawyer David Aufhauser to give up a $6 million bonus he received and pay a $500,000 civil penalty, the…

Oct 7, 2008 6:05 PM CDT

Lawyers Want More Time, Less Stress, Not More Money

Asked what one aspect of their law practice they would change, if they could, 31 percent of the 300 large law firm and corporate attorneys recently surveyed by Robert Half Legal said they wanted a less stressful work life. And another 30 percent wanted to work fewer hours or increase…

Oct 7, 2008 5:03 PM CDT

Remaining Charge Dropped Against Ex-McAfee General Counsel

Federal prosecutors are following a federal judge’s suggestion and dropping the remaining charges against McAfee’s former general counsel, Kent Roberts. Jurors acquitted Roberts of two counts of mail fraud on Friday but deadlocked on a third charge of falsifying records. He had been accused of increasing the value of his…

Oct 7, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Jurors Acquitted Ex-McAfee GC in Backdating Case Because of Intent Issues

Former McAfee general counsel Kent Roberts was acquitted of mail fraud in a backdating prosecution on Friday. A law school graduate on the jury says the verdict was reached because prosecutors failed to prove intent. Jurors acquitted Roberts of two counts of mail fraud that were based on allegations he…

Oct 6, 2008 11:25 AM CDT

New Top Lawyer for Bank of England

As the credit crunch hammers the UK’s financial system, the Bank of England has named Graham Nicholson, a mergers and acquisitions partner at London’s Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, as its in-house chief legal adviser. He is part of a team at the firm advising the bank on the nationalization of mortgage…

Oct 3, 2008 10:43 AM CDT

In Brave New Post-Boom World, Corporate Clients Now Want Value

Updated: The party obviously is over for a number of law firms recently flush with profits from formerly booming financial institutions, but a brave new world may await attorneys able and willing to adjust to the new regime. In a word, it’s now all about value, writes Paul Lippe, the…

Sep 30, 2008 7:29 PM CDT

GE Battles a Second In-House Lawyer in Court

Two in-house lawyers for General Electric are facing the company in courtroom battles. In the most recent case, fired lawyer Adriana Koeck is defending a GE lawsuit that seeks return of confidential e-mails, memos and legal opinions she is accused of misappropriating, Corporate Counsel reports. The company contends she gave…

Sep 30, 2008 6:32 PM CDT