Outside Counsel

Clients know they're paying for Biglaw's opulent holiday parties, so maybe don't post so many pictures on social media as a reminder.

Shhhhhh. They'll only insult your firm in private.

The top pet peeves (or should we say commandments) of inside counsel who manage outside counsel.

Get with the Program. And the Program is simple: ACT LIKE AN ATTORNEY AND DON’T MAKE ME LOOK BAD.

Ten years of data shows enormous change in legal ops’ relationship with outside counsel.

What happens when outside counsel conflict checks turn into a way for firms to evaluate whose business is worth more to them?

Outside legal partnerships continue to be critical to the success of an in-house department. Start building your rapport now.

* Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks that the people of Alabama should choose Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a write-in candidate to replace alleged pederast Roy Moore on the ballot for his former seat, but the AG has no desire to return to the Senate. [NPR]

* The Ninth Circuit has temporarily allowed part of Travel Ban 3.0 to proceed. While that means issuances of visas to citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen will be restricted, there’s a catch. Applicants with concrete ties to the country will be exempt. [POLITICO]

* Wisconsin is so desperate to get lawyers to help indigent criminal defendants in rural areas that lawmakers have introduced new legislation that calls for the state to fund law school loan payments of up to $20,000 a year in exchange for the representation of these clients in need. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

* Newsflash: In-house legal departments are planning to spend more on outside counsel in 2018. This is the first time this will have happened in more than a decade. Hopefully Biglaw’s fee hikes don’t come back to bite them. [Corporate Counsel]

* After a two-month national postal survey, Australians have voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of same-sex marriage. Now it’s up to the country’s government to work out the details of the bill that will bring marriage equality down under. Congrats! [CNN]

You know better than anybody who to call when you need a job done.

If a reader of average intelligence can't understand what you wrote, you failed. 

In-house lawyers, keep your egos in check and work together with your external partners.

* Remember Chris Sevier, the man who, in an effort to protest same-sex marriage, filed suit against Florida, Texas, and now Utah because he alleged he was denied the right to marry his computer? A federal judge has refused to dismiss his case because some of his wild claims ought to be heard in court — and not just for the judge’s entertainment. Surprisingly, this wasn’t an April Fools’ joke. [FOX 13 News]

* “It is plausible that Trump’s direction to ‘get ’em out of here’ advocated the use of force. It was an order, an instruction, a command.’ President Trump once again has his bold language to blame for his lawyers’ inability to get a lawsuit dismissed. Because free speech isn’t a viable defense, a federal judge has refused to toss out allegations that Trump incited violence against protesters at one of his campaign rallies. [NBC News]

* “[W]e do not intend to give any professional organizations special access to our nominees.” Breaking with tradition, the Trump administration has decided to forgo the American Bar Association’s pre-nomination assistance when it comes to evaluating and rubber-stamping candidates for the federal judiciary. We’ll have more on this later. [New York Times]

* Facebook is requiring that women and ethnic minorities account for at least 33 percent of law firm teams working on its matters. In addition, those firms must “actively identify and create clear and measurable leadership opportunities for women and minorities” who represent the social networking giant. Love. ❤ [DealBook / New York Times]

* The ABA may eliminate a requirement that full-time faculty teach at least half of all upper-level courses offered at their law schools. Hmm, if law professors worked half as much, then perhaps their salaries would decrease along with their work load and there would be less of an excuse to keep student tuition so absurdly high. [Inside Higher Ed]

Corporate clients want practical legal advice, but law firms aren't giving it to them.

One of the most challenging aspects of running a law firm or law department is the classic problem of all buyers and sellers: how do you get and sustain a good deal?

Most large venture deals require that the Company’s outside legal counsel issue a customary legal opinion, addressed to the investors in the financing, in order to give the investors comfort that the company’s legal affairs are in order. For companies that have been represented since formation by large regional or national counsel with venture capital experience, this requirement generally is not overly burdensome. However, where counsel has not represented the company since formation or is unfamiliar with VC deals, the legal opinion can become an expensive part of the process and a potential delay in the timing of the financing. Below is a short primer on why VCs require legal opinions and the process and cost typically required for a law firm to issue such an opinion.

What questions should clients ask during beauty contests to choose counsel wisely?

In-house columnist Mark Herrmann wants to know: why do outside law firms keep proposing such insulting alternative-fee arrangements?

In-house columnist Mark Herrmann describes behavior from outside counsel that he finds very frustrating.