Outside Counsel

When smaller firms offer such a tremendous cost advantage over Biglaw, general counsel are making the move to lean and mean.

In-house litigator Mark Herrmann offers some advice for outside counsel about depositions.

Which firms do Fortune 500 companies turn to when facing bet-the-company litigation?

Interesting findings from a new survey.

How did the Obamacare litigants select their Supreme Court lawyers? Josh Blackman, author of Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare, reveals all.

* Judges on the Third Circuit bench must really ♥ boobies. Breast cancer awareness bracelets can’t be banned by public schools if they aren’t lewd and if they comment on social issues. [Legal Intelligencer]

* A bevy of Biglaw firms were involved as advisers in the sale of the Boston Globe, Newsweek, and the Washington Post, including Cleary Gottlieb, Cravath, and Morgan Lewis, among others. [Am Law Daily]

* After surviving a motion for disqualification, Quinn Emanuel will continue to represent Snapchat. A short video of John Quinn laughing his ass off will be available for the next 10 seconds. [TechCrunch]

* Alex Rodriguez, the only MLB player who will be appealing his drug-related suspension, has hired Reed Smith and Gordon & Rees to hit it out of the park during arbitration proceedings. [Am Law Daily]

* Don’t say we never did you any favors: Here are the top 5 mistakes new in-house counsel make from the perspective of outside counsel. Take a look before you make them yourselves. [Texas Lawyer]

* We saw this coming back in June (seventh item), but now it’s official. Prenda Law has dissolved after posting six figures in bonds for various ethical sanctions. Next step, bankruptcy? [National Law Journal]

* If you’re interested in applying to a top 14 law school, make sure your stats and your story are both compelling. No one likes a boring law student. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

Mark Herrmann shares some of his frustrations as an in-house lawyer.

What's the similarity between discussions about alternative fee agreements and elephantine mating? In-house columnist Mark Herrmann explains.

Did your firm make the list?

* Bad boy! After last week’s dramatic bench performance by Justice Samuel Alito, the Alliance For Justice, a liberal watchdog group, is petitioning the Supreme Court to adopt and adhere to a code of conduct. [National Law Journal]

* There’s been a changing of the guard at the Supreme Court, where Scott Harris will be stepping into the role of Clerk of Court in September. Here’s hoping he can fill William Suter’s shoes. [Supreme Court of the United States]

* If you’re in-house and searching for the best outside counsel, you may be best served by going to one of these Biglaw firms. But which were the “absolute best”? Take a guess. [Corporate Counsel]

* “Let’s record this as a threat…” If you say so. Wherein a former Bryan Cave attorney gets federally indicted for threatening to murder a colleague still employed at the firm. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

* And just like that, the tide keeps on rolling. With the departure of Kenneth Randall, Alabama Law has appointed Professor William Brewbaker as acting dean until an interim dean is chosen. [AL.com]

Making predictions is part of an in-house lawyer's job. Why do so many outside lawyers refuse to help?

The average lawsuit thus pits Tweedledee against Tweedledum, and, sadly, they can't both lose. After the verdict comes down, Tweedlewhoever boasts on his website of another great victory. Twenty years later, what does that look like?

Some consultants have come up with a four-part formula for selecting outside counsel. Does it make sense?

When selecting outside counsel, should in-house lawyers hire by the lawyer or by the firm? Columnist Mark Herrmann has some strong views on this issue.

* “We know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.” Barack Obama was re-elected as president. Bring on the hope and change! No, seriously. [New York Times]

* In news that shouldn’t come as a surprise, regardless of who won the presidential race, there are still post-election voting issues that will likely be resolved in the courts. [Blog of Legal Times]

* But what we really want to know is who will be our country’s next attorney general. Because if anyone can fill Eric Holder’s shoes, it’s Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the S.D.N.Y. [WSJ Law Blog]

* In other important news, several states approved gay marriage ballot initiatives, and others legalized marijuana. But hopefully you don’t have a case of the munchies yet, because federal law still says it’s illegal. [CNN]

* They helped American citizens “ba-rock” the vote: hundreds of law students from around the country rallied around the craziness of Election Day to volunteer their assistance to worthy causes. [National Law Journal]

* Biglaw firms in NYC are still reeling after Hurricane Sandy. While WilmerHale set up temporary offices last week, both SullCrom and Fried Frank could be out of commission for weeks. [Reuters; New York Times]

* At this point, in-house counsel are kind of like the McKayla Maroneys of the legal profession, because they are seriously unimpressed with outside counsel’s efforts to improve services and fees. [Corporate Counsel]

* Judge Theodore Jones, associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals, RIP. [New York Law Journal]

What’s not to like about pitch meetings? In-house counsel get to give law firm partners homework, play know-it-all law school prof, and get free legal advice!

How can outside counsel make the most of their in-house pitch opportunity? Susan Moon provides some tips...

What should a good litigator's preliminary case assessment look like? In-house columnist Mark Herrmann explains what outside counsel should do -- and what they should NOT to do -- in an early case assessment.

How can your firm stop corporate client attrition? It's all about awareness and dialogue, according to this Acritas survey.

Which firms do Fortune 100 companies turn to when they’ve got bet-the-company litigation on the table?