Inside Straight
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Biglaw, Gender, In-House Counsel, Minority Issues, Women's Issues
Inside Straight: Pitching Diversity
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Diversity matters. It matters for reasons of social justice. It matters because folks are tracking it, and it can be important to look good on those scales. It matters for reasons of trial strategy, […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Job Searches
Inside Straight: In Praise of Cronyism
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. I was always offended by cronyism. The new managing partner, or CEO, or whoever, comes on board, and he throws out the old guard and brings in his new guys — blatant cronyism. This […] - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Cheapness, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues
Inside Straight: In Praise Of Mediocrity!
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. All this perfection crap. One reader wrote to me to complain. Surely, he said, there’s room in the world for a law firm that does work that’s “good enough for the occasion at a […]
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Biglaw, Gender, Headhunters / Recruiters, In-House Counsel, Women's Issues
Inside Straight: Moving Laterally
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. I spoke on a panel with two other in-house lawyers at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law a little while ago, and I learned two interesting things about lateral mobility. I’m not one […] -
In-House Counsel, Litigators
Inside Straight: Classic Bad Introductions
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. I know, I know: This column is not supposed to be about written advocacy. And I know, I know: No one needs my smug suggestions, because no one who reads “Above the Law” ever […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Politics
Inside Straight: Oy, Libya!
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. The Libyan rebels have it easy. All they have to do is overthrow a megalomaniacal dictator who has mustard gas. But in-house lawyers? Now, they have it tough. (I write these columns several days […] -
9th Circuit, Clerkships, Federal Judges, In-House Counsel, Litigators
Inside Straight: 'Standard of Review Decides Cases'
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Here are two stories, from nearly thirty years apart. They’re bookends on the subject of why standard of review counts. Travel back with me, if you will, to the summer of 1983. I’m ten […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Job Searches, Susman Godfrey
Inside Straight: I Want To Hire ... Me!
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. I’ve never met Steve Susman, but he cracked me up recently. Susman clerked at the Supreme Court, and the word on the street is that he’s a pretty theatrical guy. He was recently interviewed […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Biglaw, Cars, In-House Counsel, Litigators
Inside Straight: On Alphabet Soup (Hereinafter 'OAS')
Words! Words are great! Use 'em! -
Books, In-House Counsel, Litigators, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities Law, Shameless Plugs, Wall Street
Inside Straight: FAS 5 Fracas
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. First, a shameless plug; then, back to business. The plug: I’ll be giving my “book talk” about The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law in several locations in the next couple of weeks, including in […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Lateral Moves, Musical Chairs, Partner Issues
Inside Straight: Loving Laterals
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Why are lateral partners like pigs? No, no! I didn’t mean it that way! I’m just remembering the line from George Orwell’s Animal Farm — “Four legs good, two legs bad!” Thirty years ago, […] -
Biglaw, Depositions, In-House Counsel, Litigators, Partner Issues
Inside Straight: Why The Focus On Written Work?
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. This column comes from a narrow perspective — that of a litigator and, in particular, an in-house head of litigation. I suspect that in-house SEC lawyers, or M&A lawyers, may have entirely different perspectives […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Litigators, Partner Issues
Inside Straight: The Sins Of Inside Counsel
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. It’s time for the other side of the coin. Sitting here in the catbird’s seat, it’s easy to criticize things that outside counsel do. (It’s not just easy; my hope is that it’s […]
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
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Biglaw, Blogging, In-House Counsel, Media and Journalism
Inside Straight: The Illusion of Perfection
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. When you write for as large an audience as reads “Above the Law,” you get a huge variety of responses to your posts. But two recent posts illustrated that point in a remarkable […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: Human Resources and the Law
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. It’s odd to be one of the legal world’s shoulders to cry on. This began when I went in-house a little more than a year ago. I started getting calls from lawyer-friends asking […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Litigators
Inside Straight: Where Law Is Not King
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. There are many advantages to working for a corporation instead of a law firm: You learn a business from the inside out; work regularly with business people, rather than other lawyers; are spared […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Litigators
Inside Straight: The Sins of Outside Counsel -- Creating Surprises
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. “No surprises.” When you interview for an in-house job as head of litigation, that’s what everyone — CEO, CFO, General Counsel — is likely to say: “All we want is to know in […] -
Associate Advice, Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues, Technology
Inside Straight: Thinking About E-mail 'Subject' Lines
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Please think for a second before you hit “send” and launch your next e-mail. There are actually a bunch of things you should think about before sending your next e-mail, but today I’ll […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: 'Will You Be There On Monday?'
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Put yourself in the other guy’s shoes. I don’t want a chorus of, “But that’s common sense! Tell me something new! Complain about bonuses!” Of course it’s common sense that you should put […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Money, Partner Issues
Inside Straight: A Tangent on Merit-Based Compensation
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. I like what Steven Harper’s doing these days. After 30 years at Kirkland & Ellis, he retired from the fray, and he now comments on big law firms from an outsider’s perspective, at […]