Law Department Administration

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By: Angela H. Zimmern

Every firm these days seems to be talking the legal project management talk. McGuireWoods, however, walks the walk – and does so in a manner that clients embrace. The firm eschews a one-size-fits-all approach for a more nuanced, attorney-driven LPM program that is winning fans inside the firm and out. Below, Angela H. Zimmern, one of the architects of the effort, discusses how to win over transactional lawyers and ever-skeptical litigators alike. Her remarks have been edited for length and style.
Continue Reading One LPM Size Does Not Fit All: A nuanced approach that begins and ends with the client’s goals is the surest path to success

By: Anthony Faugno, EisnerAmper LLP

Doing business with the government can be a winning strategy. It is not, however, easy. Below, Anthony Faugno, an authority on government contracting with EisnerAmper, discusses the promise and the peril of working with the government in remarks that have been edited for length and style. 
Continue Reading Doing Business with the Government – Importance of Accounting Compliance: Be well-prepared to meet all compliance requirements

By: Todd Steggerda & Edwin O. Childs, McGuireWoods LLP

Let’s start with the good news. Companies that do business with the government often reap substantial rewards. The bad news is that they must do so in a souped up enforcement environment most others businesses do not face. Todd Steggerda and Edwin Childs know their way around the government-contracting ecosystem. Below they discuss what it takes for companies to stay on the right side of these unique and demanding customers. Their remarks have been edited for length and style.
Continue Reading Government Contractors Face Enhanced Enforcement: But opportunities abound for companies willing to confront risks and requirements others do not face

By: Oliver Campbell & Bas Boris Visser, Clifford Chance US LLP

The world’s premier law firms are now more than purveyors of legal services. In the past decade, they have become multibillion-dollar global businesses and face many of the same challenges and issues as the clients they serve.

Successfully running a large firm today requires not only a cadre of great legal minds but a team of professionals focused on continually improving both operational and process excellence. During the past five years, we’ve worked directly with clients and shared our best legal project management (LPM) ideas to help them reduce cost, risk and time in executing everything from routine to mission-critical work.
Continue Reading Sharing Operation Insights with Clients: A commitment to innovation sparks new ways of working

By: Bonnie Hill & Richard Koppes, National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)

Every year, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) prepares a major report by a Blue Ribbon Commission composed of leaders from the corporate governance community. The NACD board debates three possible topics and picks one. This year it was unanimous: “Building a the Strategic-Asset Board.” Below, the leaders of the effort, Bonnie Hill and Richard Koppes, discuss the commission’s watershed report, which tackles a series of fraught topics with a heavy dose of tough love aimed at boards too sluggish or passive to change to meet changing times. Their remarks have been edited for length and style.
Continue Reading Change in the Boardroom: Evolution or Revolution?: Commission seeks to transform boards into high-impact strategic assets

By: Mark Haddad, Thomson Reuters

It’s no secret that corporate legal departments are struggling to do more with less. In the aftermath of the 2008 global economic crisis, corporate counsel faced cost pressures and brought more work in-house. Today, legal departments continue to adjust to cost constraints while dealing with how to manage internal and external resources to achieve greater efficiency and productivity.
Continue Reading Improving In-House Efficiency: The increasing role of legal department operations professionals

By: Alexander W. Major & Franklin C. Turner, McCarter & English LLP

The federal government can provide a large and lucrative line of business, but not without significant risk. Alexander Major and Franklin Turner of McCarter & English caution companies regarding the growing trend toward contract-related claims, how False Claims Acts penalties are affecting suits and why preparing for a bid protest needs to begin at the inception of the bid itself. Their remarks are edited for length and style.
Continue Reading The Flipside of Federal Contracts: Pursue government bids fully aware of the complications and compliance nuances

By: Lloyd M. Johnson Jr., Chief Legal Executive

Deciding to hire a legal department operations executive seems like a no-brainer for general counsel who want to transform the way their teams deliver services to clients. Unfortunately for those GCs, that’s where the easy part ends. There’s rarely anything simple about finding the right person for the legal department operations (LDO) role.
Continue Reading The Essential Skills of an LDO Leader: Successful operations executives fuse talent, tact, and technical ability

By: Eric J. Barr, Marks Paneth LLP

Shareholder agreements document the intentions of the parties in connection with, among other things, the price to be paid for an ownership interest in the event of a shareholder’s death, disability, retirement or other triggering event. There are four commonly used methods to value a company.

Continue Reading Developing Appropriate Valuation Provisions: Defuse ticking time bombs in shareholder agreements before they explode