JD Journal » training

Learning the In-House Ropes

chelsei — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:31:13 +0000

What do I do now?

You’re sitting at your new desk, staring blankly out of your huge glass window and you say to yourself: ”What do I do now?”

The move you make next is more than likely going to depend on how big your in-house department is. Departments that have six or fewer attorneys make up approximately 60% of in-house legal offices. Therefore, most in-house lawyers will have vastly more legal issues on their plate than most people, who have roughly around 200 attorneys. Most people are specialized in their company and are required to focus on closing deals. They have a patent department, labor and employment department, litigation department, and so on.

Attorneys in most companies are also expected to become subject matter experts in a relevant topic. For most in-house counsels, this level of specialization is nowhere to be found. Most are expected to be at least somewhat knowledgeable on a vast array of topics, such as: compliance, mergers, securities, and acquisitions, et cetera. Most are always very humbled when they are asked to speak to a group of in-house attorneys, because they know that most of the audience are expected to handle a huge number of topics in order to represent their clients in the best way possible.

For most people their next move would be to educate themselves on the working and expectations of my clients, because no one can hold your hand through the seemingly endless policies and procedures. At the same time, you should be educating yourself on the infrastructure of your company and it’s products and services. After a short bit of time, you should drill down on your specific areas of responsibility, which should be done on your own. This is not to say that there will be no support for you, you just must simply ask.

One of the most important lessons you will learn in private practice is when to say ”I don’t know.” As a new attorney, there will be a great deal of things that you will not know. Trial by fire is an understatement, but ignorance is something that you should be ready to admit to anyone who will listen to you, and after a time of this, you will have gained enough knowledge to be dangerous. And dangerous is what you should be. After this, it will be time to use another lesson you learned from private practice, and that is how to gracefully admit that you have screwed up.

Soon, the people you have come to work for know that you likely don’t know anything about your new role, which happens often with most new endeavors. This time, that most call the ”honeymoon” period, is the time to make honest mistake, and to learn from them. Ignorance is something that is expected from new workers. But, stupidity will not be tolerated.

Bass Berry Associates Complete Training Program

Erik Even — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:18:06 +0000

Nashville, Tennessee’s Bass, Berry & Sims has announced the completion of its first associate litigation training program, culminating in full-scale mock jury trials at Vanderbilt University Law School.

The six-month program was designed to provide associates with direct litigation, trial advocacy, and jury persuasion experience. The goal of the training is to prepare associates to become first-chair trial lawyers, a client-service strategy to provide quality service at non-senior rates.

Clips of the training sessions, including opening statements, direct examinations, and closing arguments, are available on YouTube.

In June, the firm laid off 10 associates and 22 staff.

Nashville’s Bass, Berry & Sims employs more than 225 attorneys, representing numerous publicly-traded companies and Fortune 500 businesses.

Howrey Adopts Apprenticeship Model for First Years

Erik Even — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:45:47 +0000

Howrey, which laid off 25 staff in April, is adopting an “apprenticeship” program for its incoming associates, similar to that proposed by Drinker Biddle in May.

Under Howrey’s Tier 1 Program, new associates will spend only one-third of their time in their first year on billable client work. The rest will be spent on pro bono work and training programs.

In the “Howrey Academies,” associates will be taught writing, get assigned to trial teams, plus other programs.

In year two, associates will work on client secondments, judicial externships, and other advanced development opportunities. Billable hours in the second year will be capped at about half of total hours.

The bad news? The Tier 1 Program will be limited to a select number of associates each year. Compensation is annual salary of $100,000, plus $25,000 upon acceptance of the job offer to defray law school loans or third year law school expenses.

In their second year at the firm, participants will receive an annual salary of $125,000 and a $25,000 bonus upon successful completion of the program, and entry into Tier 2 of Howrey’s associate development program. Higher compensation may be offered to candidates with special qualifications, such as advanced technical degrees or clerkships.

Howrey LLP was founded as Howrey, Simon, Baker, & Murchison in 1956, and was the first national anti-trust law firm. It has more than 700 attorneys in 17 locations worldwide.

Utah To Start Mentor Program For New Lawyers

Erik Even — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:07:46 +0000

The state of Utah will become the third in the nation, after Georgia and Delaware, to require people new to the practice of law to participate in a yearlong, mandatory mentoring program intended to foster professionalism, ethics, and practical advice.

The Utah Supreme Court has already approved the program, called the New Lawyer Training Program, and now anyone who applies to the Utah State Bar must go through the program. Every new lawyer will be paired with a court-approved attorney, one who has proven experience, who will give one-on-one guidance to the new attorney.

“If you’re a young, solo practitioner just out of law school and you have an office in South Jordan, or you work out of home or Starbucks, you really need to find a relationship with someone who can work with you through that early developmental experience,” said Utah State Bar President, Nate Alder.

Law Technology News Awards Winners Announced

Erik Even — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:01:11 +0000

Law Technology News has announced the law firm and in-house law department winners in its sixth annual Law Technology News Awards program.

In brief:

Most Innovative Use of Technology During a Trial: Bartko, Zankel, Tarrant & Miller’s system that handled e-discovery for an anti-trust case involving more than 19 million electronic pages and 1,100 boxes of hard copy materials.

Most Innovative Use of Technology for a Pro Bono Project: Miriam Buhl and others at Weil, Gotshal & Manges became the first users of Pro Bono Manager, a new commercial software product that integrates content from the public interest legal community with powerful pro bono reporting, knowledge management and lawyer matching tools.

Most Innovative Use of Technology by a Law Firm: Fish & Richardson developed OutLaw, an in-house application that allows the firm’s attorneys to access their documents, docket and CRM contacts within Outlook; search the firm’s 9 million-plus documents; and enter time billings.

IT Director of the Year: Constance Hoffman, CIO of Bryan Cave, for her ability to solve real legal and business problems, to partner with clients and to create innovative options.

Consultant of the Year: Donna Payne of Donna Payne Consulting for her substantial contributions to both her clients and to the industry through volunteer participation and community activism.

Champion of Technology: Joy Heath Rush, director of training at Sidley Austin, for her 20-plus years as an innovator, leader and mentor, both within her firm and throughout the legal technology community. She is president of the International Legal Technology Association.

Most Innovative Use of Technology by an In-House Legal Department: Alabama’s Vulcan Materials Company developed a centralized system that accelerates legal bill review and approval, ensures compliance with predetermined billing guidelines and creates a comprehensive view of legal spending.

Official site.

Via Business Wire.