There are several things that I rarely, if ever, expect to hear in-house lawyers utter. These include, “Hey, I’m really excited about that new ‘Rocky’ movie!” and “Is $1,500 an hour enough for that Big Law third-year associate?” or, my
Hilgers Graben PLLC
Latest from Hilgers Graben PLLC - Page 2
Ten Things: Alternative Fee Arrangements – What In-House Lawyers Need to Know
I had a different topic in mind for this post and then someone sent me a screenshot from a fee request filing on Pacer (the federal courts’ e-filing system). Here’s just a snippet:
This is not a joke. You are…
Ten Things: How In-House Lawyers Can Survive and Thrive in Times of Uncertainty and Change
I do a lot of speaking with and presenting to in-house lawyers and legal departments. It’s something I really enjoy doing because I get to share my “wisdom” with everyone (which is just a fancy word for “oldness”). By this…
Ten Things: Essential Issues for In-House Counsel (2023 Edition)
Hello everyone and welcome to 2023! Here we are well into year nine of the “Ten Things” blog. I checked recently and see that there are over 12,000 followers of the blog. Holy #$^%! I never in my wildest dreams…
Ten Things: Best Blogs (and Other Media) for In-House Lawyers (2022 Edition)
Hello everyone and greetings from Copenhagen! Mrs. Ten Thing’s family is from Denmark, so we have been fortunate enough to spend these holidays in Switzerland and Denmark. It’s been chocolate, beer, and a lot of eating! And no matter where…
Ten Things: Becoming the Company Watchdog (Spotting and Dealing with Corporate Badness)
I assume most of you have been following the spectacular collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that was once worth $34 billion and is now worth less than the coins in the cushions of your couch, with theft, fraud,…
Ten Things: Business Skills All In-House Lawyers Should Master
In my newest book, Showing the Value of the Legal Department, I include a section on the evolution of the role of in-house counsel. I walk through the “dark ages” (lawyers in the basement alone and ignored) all the…
Ten Things: The Art of Delivering Bad News
Most days being an in-house lawyer is a pretty good gig. It has certainly gotten more demanding over the last ten years or so, but there have been corresponding gains in both compensation and prestige. Those do not always offset…
Ten Things: “Cool Tech” for In-House Counsel (2022 Edition)
Well, it’s August and that means lots of things. If you live in Texas, it means you are seriously regretting your decision to move here because it is just stupid hot and humid. Apparently, housing lots in Hell are sold…
Ten Things: When to Send Work to Outside Counsel (and When to Bring it In-House)
As a longtime in-house counsel, I constantly debated when to send work to outside counsel and when to keep it (or bring it back in). It was a surprisingly difficult task. As an outside lawyer, my hope now is that…