tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292Fri, 11 Oct 2024 19:38:53 +0000LitigationAnnual MeetingAttorney-Client PrivilegeFederal CourtsIn-house Practicebillable hourscivil libertiesACC BlogACC membersCLEDOJGoing GreenGovernmentIn-house counselIntellectual PropertyJudicial ImaginationMcNultyNonprofitOutside Counsel ManagementRule of LawRule of Law Anastasoff v. United StatesSeattleWaivercommercial law corporate governance International securitieserosiongrowthguest bloggerlaw department administrationlaw firmsnon-precedential opinionssocial networkingtechnologyun-published opinionsvalue challenge<a href='http://www.acc.com'>www.acc.com</a>http://in-house.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (ACC)Blogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-8035542039689246007Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:55:00 +00002008-10-13T15:18:00.212-04:00It's October 13th, and the first 2008 Annual Meeting sessions will begin in one week. Here at ACC headquarters, we're working hard to ensure that this meeting is as great as every other. The education and events staff leaves for Seattle this week to make sure that all logistics are covered. Months of preparation are coming together as we get down to the final days before the big show. I, along http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/10/days-away.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-3201941165122241094Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:07:00 +00002008-10-08T14:10:46.583-04:00billable hoursThe NEO ACCA presenters offered a number of examples of new arrangements for billing. I have categorized them into three categories, none of which should be surprising. They are fixed rate, contingency and fixed rate-contingency. Another hybrid is the addition of hourly billing as a part of the models.One of the fixed rate models was an agreement to handle all the cases that rose in a certain http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/10/different-methods-of-billing-fixed-rate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-3331241350246901000Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:27:00 +00002008-10-07T21:38:21.591-04:00I attended a NEO ACCA conference on alternatives to the billable hour a few days ago. In the next few blogs I will share some impressions, observations and thoughts. First, let me make an observation.—it was fortunate I went because I contributed to making the audience slightly larger than the presenters. You would have thought there would have been far more interest. There appeared to be a http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/10/who-supports-billable-hour.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-601598157639416936Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:45:00 +00002008-10-01T16:46:47.063-04:00In the last week or so, we discovered that an entire banking model, the investment bank was a flawed business model. The last of the two investment banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reconstituted themselves into regulated bank holding companies.In my last blog I suggested ,based on what was happening in the financial community, that traditional surrogates for competence, fees and office http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/10/flawed-business-models.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-3691005832634127284Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:47:00 +00002008-09-29T10:49:32.799-04:00Are these competing forces or can we implement both, resulting in a longneed change in the in-house/outside counsel relationship? We have a 20thcentury structure trying to hold up a 21st century market. The seams aregiving way and cracks are in the foundation. We can no longer patch italong the way with small concessions. ACC is calling for a monumentalchange.Get rid of the skyboxes! Get ridhttp://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/revolutionary-change-vs-evolutionary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-5447536948260063122Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:15:00 +00002008-09-26T11:36:34.100-04:00billable hoursToday, ACC launches it's Value Challenge- a program designed to create a constructive dialog and practical resources that help lawyers better align legal costs with client objectives and the value of the services provided. About Value Challenge Listen to the Launch (LIVE today at 1pm EST)Read Today's Launch Agendahttp://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/value-challenge-launched-streaming-live.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-4304712145528659865Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:41:00 +00002008-09-25T14:44:34.003-04:00First, I did not know that Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke were reading my blog—when I advocated a bailout for everybody I was joking. Apparently, they took me seriously or at least they are trying to do it for the entire financial industry.Is there a lesson in this for lawyers? Remember the days when everyone admired those highly paid Wall Street investment bankers. They were all described as http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-do-you-blog-when-financial-system.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-1008489606466873625Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:40:00 +00002008-09-24T15:45:04.560-04:00In my last few blogs, I have been describing how we lawyers have used words to substitute for or manipulate reality, and how Judge Posner even wrote a book about it.My last blog described how Hank Greenberg used words to draw an artificial distinction between the financial conditions of Lehman and AIG and suggesting that this excused us from re-examining the correctness of our conduct. Recently http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/words-words-words.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-7710913786661752791Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:39:00 +00002008-09-23T11:55:50.965-04:00That phrase, “Plasticity of Legal Rhetoric” is not mine, but Judge Posner’s which he uses in his book, “Overcoming Law. However, I had recognized the concept long before I read it in Posner’s book, which, in fact, had been brought to my attention by a judge friend of mine who had been subjected to my ravings on the topic.I decided to discuss this issue just after looking at the non-precedential http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/plasticity-of-legal-rhetoric.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-6946389118814387483Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:53:00 +00002008-09-19T07:54:31.894-04:00This rule is attributed to Warren Buffett, but I do not know that to be true. When I heard about it, I immediately thought about they way lawyers draft contractsThe rule says first come innovators, second there are imitators and finally come idiots. The commentator who described this rule and attributed it to Buffett was using the rule to describe how rational risk distribution became widespread http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/rule-of-three-is.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-6150055169444370703Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:02:00 +00002008-09-17T16:09:32.176-04:00Any thoughts about what Ted Claypoole shared with the New to In-house Committee today on Second Life and the issues surrounding it?Below is the description of the Legal Quickie from today's call:Business Risks and Rewards in Online Virtual Worlds.Moderator: Susanna McDonald, General Counsel, Claimant Management SystemsGuest speaker: Ted Claypoole, authority on internet law at Womble Carlyle http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-to-in-house-committee-legal-quickie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-3681739584747184466Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:40:00 +00002008-09-17T14:42:27.635-04:00I waited until Tuesday to write this because I wanted the emotion of the moment to fade. Those of you who have been reading my blogs have known that I have not been a fan of government intervention.Today for those of you not in financial institutions your biggest concern maybe whether you will ever be able to afford to retire. But for our colleagues in financial institutions I am wondering what http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-are-in-house-counsel-thinkingthe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-8640212265128149059Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:06:00 +00002008-09-15T12:09:41.667-04:00ACC BlogCLEJudicial ImaginationLitigationRecently, I had the opportunity to chat with a friend and former Chief Judge of a State Supreme Court. I was disappointed because, Illinois State Supreme Court that had apparently fought the politically correct position of adopting a mandatory CLE requirement had succumbed a few years ago.I mentioned to my friend the fact that mandatory CLE was in my view a pointless exercise designed by the http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/judicial-imagination-making-believe-we.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-820629313941852761Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:31:00 +00002008-09-09T12:01:41.493-04:00NonprofitJust as you visit your doctor to get your annual physical, as an in-house attorney, it is prudent at least once a year to diagnose your nonprofit organization's legal health and well-being. Even if not an expert in every area of law, a successful in-house nonprofit counsel needs to be able to spot legal red flags and be able to effectivelymanage them. Later today on the Nonprofit Organizations http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/ready-for-legal-self-examination-legal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-8109826435524794213Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:23:00 +00002008-09-08T13:27:40.675-04:00WHY FEDERAL COURTS DO NOT APPLY THE RULE OF LAW: Part 7: EpilogueFirst, let me point out an error I made on the prior blogs. I stated that Anastasoff (blog 1) was seeking to have a prior unpublished opinion applied so she could obtain a refund. That is not correct; she wanted the prior case unpublished case ignored so she could get the refund. Although this error does not impair the point I was http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-federal-courts-part-7.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-8516248603355612835Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:27:00 +00002008-09-03T11:30:09.466-04:00Attorney-Client PrivilegeNo doubt that you all received e-mails from ACC including the personal note from Fred Krebs announcing the victory in changing DOJ policy on the attorney-client privilege. I want to extend my congratulations, particularly to Susan Hackett who has led the ACC effort.However, in our enthusiasm, let us not forget that this was a joint effort among many organizations, including the National Chamber http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/it-is-battle-not-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-276902368026278507Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:59:00 +00002008-09-03T11:27:21.165-04:00Part 6, Justification #4: A non-precedential opinion can be argued for its persuasiveness, even though it is not precedential.This position appears to be the present state of affairs in the federal courts—the old rule was that if you cite a non-precedential case you will be sent to the eighth circle of the Inferno; now such a citation simply risks being sent to Purgatorio.The position was http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-federal-courts-part-6.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-6371015923922548138Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:22:00 +00002008-08-29T10:24:38.137-04:00In my bio, I said that one of my objectives was to get you to think about things that the preoccupation of your careers and family duties would prevent. Today, I realized that time to think might be more scarce than I might have imagined. It just may be that the frantic pace of our lives to increase productivity might actually start to become counterproductive when the consequence of the pressurehttp://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/time-may-be-money-but-no-time-to-think.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-5423636642209662274Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:40:00 +00002008-08-28T14:49:25.055-04:00Attorney-Client PrivilegeDOJMcNultyWaiverIt was a good day for attorney-client privilege junkies like me here at ACC(and that means if you're corporate counsel, it was a REALLY good day foryou and your clients' rights): the DOJ finally issued its promisedrevisions to the McNulty Memo and (are you seated?) actually reversed everysingle issue we've protested in the Holder/Thompson/McNulty Memo process.Every one. No more privilege waiverhttp://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/real-win-win-day-for-privilege.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-2718439225157496910Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:08:00 +00002008-08-28T12:25:50.506-04:00Annual MeetingGoing GreenSeattleI’ve been doing a little research about the location of this year’s Annual Meeting- Seattle, WA. An interesting fact- Seattle was named one of the top ten green cities in the nation by National Geographic. In fact, the Washington State Convention & Trade Center (WSCTC) in downtown Seattle announced the availability of the nation’s first completely compostable water bottles available for http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/emerald-city.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-64302810766527675Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:15:00 +00002008-08-28T08:55:24.006-04:00Annual MeetingSo we’re 7 ½ weeks out from the big show- The 2008 ACC Annual Meeting. This will be my 4th meeting with ACC, and I have to say, probably my most exciting since I’ve spent the last year working closely with 2 of our 16 committees- IT, Privacy & eCommerce, and New to In-house. These have been great committees to work with- the members are committed and interested in the monthly teleconferences, thehttp://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/accs-annual-meeting-whos-ready.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-495210342331544776Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:29:00 +00002008-08-27T11:49:07.660-04:00In honor of the hard work, honesty and moral fortitude of my father and grandfather, I wrote an entry contrasting their behavior with the euphuisms bandied about Wall Street and the media to distract one’s attention from the fundamental causes of the credit crisis. Since then the government (both parties) have engaged in further conduct that disregarded the fact that people made blatantly bad http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/here-we-go-again-and-its-not-even.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-5840192562336813124Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:49:00 +00002008-08-25T07:51:22.576-04:00Part 5, Justification #3: Judges Need to Select The Proper Case As Vehicle to Announce A Principle Of Common Law Which Limits Its Misuse By Lawyers.This justification is the most peculiar of the lot and to the extent I can determine is advocated largely by Judge Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit. His thesis is that by selecting the proper case to articulate a doctrine of common law one can minimize http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/why-federal-courts-part-5.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-6247089983340255542Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:42:00 +00002008-08-18T08:45:55.896-04:00Part 4, Justification #2- Federal Judges Are Overworked and Can Dispense With Cases Faster If They Are Unpublished and Non-PrecedentialRead Justification #1 This argument posed by the late Judge Becker and his academic supporters can be viewed in full in “Controversial Cases Disappear”, CORPORATE LEGAL TIMES, November 1999, Vol 9. No.96. The late Judge Becker felt that as long as the court http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/why-federal-courts-part-4.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15462292.post-5472871958012874001Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:54:00 +00002008-08-15T13:56:00.911-04:00. . .or How We Rationalize Our Maintenance of Artificially High Legal Costs I want now to focus on another sacred cow of the profession—“pro bono”. I am not against insuring that everyone has access to legal services, I just don’t believe we should deprive people of the dignity of being able to pay for their own services by creating restrictions to practice that keep the cost of legal services http://in-house.blogspot.com/2008/08/pro-bonoa-noble-endeavor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ACC)0