Deborah Festa, partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, discusses the qualities that contribute to a great culture at a firm, including the crucial role of leadership. Also: Advice on what women can do to excel in traditionally male-dominated fields such as finance law.
Continue Reading Exceptional Firm Culture Starts at the Top
In this interview from Corporate Counsel Business Journal, Andre G. Bouchard, who recently retired from his position as Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, talks about his years in private practice in Delaware, his work on the court, and his new role at Paul Weiss.
Continue Reading How Technology Is Changing the Consumer Experience
While we certainly had a lot to be thankful for over the Thanksgiving holiday, we also received the disturbing news that a new variant of COVID-19 named Omicron could dash our hopes for a return to “normal” anytime soon. I am beginning to question what “normal” is, and obviously the concept of “new normal” takes on a whole new meaning if we have to embrace another round of public health measures to combat the latest variant as we approach two full years into this global pandemic.
Continue Reading Whistleblower Claims Explode
One stat says it all. In 2015, 2 in 10 law departments had at least one legal ops professional. Cut to 2021 and that number triples to more than 6 in 10. Wow! The annual CLO survey by the Association of Corporate Counsel is always big news – but this year it’s bigger and better than ever.
Continue Reading CLO Survey Showcases “Stunning Rise” of Legal Ops
In this piece from Princeton Legal Search Group, the focus shifts from the eye-popping salaries we read about every day – Milbank raises first-year associates to $200K and eighth-year associates to $355K and Davis Polk ups the ante to $205K/$365K – to why. According to the folks at Princeton, the question is whether top compensation is enough. Is money enough to buy associate happiness and loyalty? Not necessarily, they conclude.
Continue Reading Is BIG Money BIG Enough?
Yesim Richardson, president of Cornerstone Research, and Lisa Claussen-Adams, the firm’s senior talent advisor, explore the ins and outs of mentorship and break down the concept itself into four separate behaviors that allow for effective mentoring.
Continue Reading Toward a More Expansive View of Mentoring
Will Reynolds, CEO of ContractWorks, offers insights as to how to strategically implement technology to improve efficiencies and identify risks and opportunities within your department.
Continue Reading Expanding Your Legal Team? Start With Technology
Ensuring the well-being of your team in a high-level, holistic manner.
CCBJ: Tell us about your role as Director of Health and Well-Being at Akin Gump.
Kimm Merkel: At Akin Gump, we believe that benefits play an integral part in a person’s ability to manage work and life outside the office. We have a team mantra that says it’s important to meet people where they are. Individual needs differ so greatly, so it can be a challenge, but it does guide us in our programming, as well as how I approach my responsibilities. We focus on providing high-quality, competitive programs that arm each individual with resources so that they can make informed decisions.
That covers traditional benefits, like medical, dental and vision, but over the last number of years, it’s also been coupled with a strong focus on well-being, which at Akin Gump is defined as one’s physical, mental, financial and social/community health. We must be balanced in each of these respects, or we could potentially suffer in all of them. For example, if we are struggling with our finances, stressing and worrying about money, that can take a mental or physical toll on a person, and it could
Continue Reading Meeting People Where They Are: A Healthy Firm Is a Successful Firm
The value of networking and the positive impact building relationships can have on your career – both today and in the future.
Continue Reading Always Be Networking: Five Tips for Staying Connected
‘Tis the season when top in-house legal officers get a taste of what outside counsel go through every year when the Am Law 100 is published. There it is for all the world to see: “What’s in your wallet?” That’s because summer is the season when ALM, publisher of The American Lawyer, and the Association of Corporate Counsel drop their annual compensation reports on inside and outside counsel.
Continue Reading $how Me the Money!